Prince William Discovers That a FIFA Promise is Not What It Appears To Be!

I feel sorry for Prince William. There, I've said it. I know what you're thinking. How you can feel sorry for a bloke who's been born into the wealthiest family in the world, who is the future King of England, and who is about to marry the stunning Kate in the Spring on a day of national celebration? Well, it's this World Cup bid business.

You can't exactly fault the Prince, can you? He had the decency to fly to Zurich and play what he believed was an integral role in last-minute schmoozing of the FIFA Exexcutive. He had his hand shaken, his picture taken and underwent a raft of interviews, all to no avail. He must be wondering this morning why he bothered, and how not even the future King of England could sway the most exclusive gentleman's club in the world. He was, through no fault of his, made to look a bit of a fool.

It's fair to say the 2018 bid made a slow start in their process due to internal politicking, and a few blunders too (the handbags!), but their biggest crime - if indeed it is a crime - is that they failed to recognise that a promise made, man to man, eye to eye, clearly counts for nothing in the world of football politics. Do not blame the media. It exposed corruption that would, in any other business or indeed politics, result in rolling heads.

Should we really be turning a blind eye to allegations of corruption and back handers just so that we can cosy up to FIFA? No, we shouldn't. What we should do, however, is dig deeper into FIFA and its workings and play a major part in a total overhaul of how the great game is run, both internationally and domestically.

In the short term the answer is clearer still. Drink some vodka (as this is the relevant tipple right now), raise a glass of thanks to Prince William for at least doing his bit, and all look forward to the 2012 Olympics.