经济学人73:美丽的运动,丑陋的政治

 　　FIFA's presidential election

　　国际足联主席选举

　　Beautiful game, ugly politics

　　美丽的运动，丑陋的政治

　　Pity the republic of football. It has a government much like many another

　　为足球界的共和国惋惜，它的政府和其他很多政府同属一丘之貉。

　　May 26th 2011 | from The Economist¹ print edition

　　IN ZURICH on June 1st a presidential election is due to take place. It is a rare event, the first since 2002, with a mere² 208 voters. No incumbent³ has lost since 1974, and the man in possession is expected to win again. The winner, despite his grand title, will not be a head of state. Yet he will be better known than many who are—and his writ⁴, unlike any of theirs, runs the world over. The presidency⁵ in question is that of FIFA, the global governing body of association football; the electors are its members, national associations. Sepp Blatter, a Swiss, has had the job for 13 years and thinks he deserves four more.

　　6月1日在苏黎世（Zurich）一场主席选举将如期举行。这是一次仅有208名投票者的罕见的选举，上一次发生还是在2002，。自1974年起，在任者从未在这个选举中失利过，而如今大权在握的现任者也被看好能再次胜利。尽管胜利者头衔颇大，但他却不是一名国家元首。可是他比很多国家领导人更广为人知——而且与其他元首们不一样，他的权利笼罩全世界。这个职位就是管理足球联合会的全球性组织国际足联；投票者是各成员，国家性足协。瑞士人塞普??布拉特（Sepp Blatter）已经担任国际足联主席一职长达13年，他认为自己理应再连任四年4年。

　　On May 25th his only challenger, Mohamed Bin⁶ Hammam, a Qatari who was once an ally, faced an unexpected obstacle: allegations of bribery⁷ involving him and Jack⁸ Warner, a Trinidadian who heads a regional confederation with 35 FIFA members. The claims were made by Chuck Blazer, the American general secretary of Mr Warner’s group, who sits with both men on FIFA’s 24-member executive committee (in effect, its cabinet). FIFA’s ethics⁹ committee is due to examine the claims on May 29th. The accused deny wrongdoing.

　　5月25日，他的唯一挑战者、也是曾经的盟友卡塔尔人穆罕默德??本??哈曼(Mohamed bin Hammam)遭遇一个意想不到的障碍：他与来自特立尼达岛的杰克??沃纳(Jack Warner)因涉嫌贿赂而受到指控，后者是拥有35名国际足联成员的地区性组织的主席（译者注：即中北美和加勒比海地区足联）。该项指控是由美国人查克??布拉泽（Chuck Blazer）提出的，他是沃纳先生任主席的足联的秘书长，同时两人都为由24人组成的国际足联执委会（实质就是国际足联的内阁）的成员。国际足联道德委员会将于29日审查该项指控。被指控者均否认了指控。

　　To some, FIFA’s politics stank¹⁰ even before this. Earlier this month the former chairman of the Football Association, which runs the game in England, told British MPs that four members of the executive committee, which decides where World Cups should be held, had asked for, or hinted at wanting, payment in cash, kind or honour for their votes on the 2018 tournament. (Mr Warner was one of them.) The British press has unearthed¹¹ other claims regarding votes for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments. Those involved in all this deny doing wrong; and accusations¹² from Britain carried a whiff of bad grace, because England’s bid for 2018 failed miserably¹³. The latest claims, though, come from the heart of FIFA’s political structure.

　　对有些人来说，国际足联的政治在此之前就臭名昭著了。本月初，该组织某位前任主席、管理英格兰足球的人告知英国议员们国际足联执委会的四位成员曾要求、或者暗示想得到现金支付或承诺来换取他们手中为2018年世界杯举办权的投票（沃纳先生是其中之一）。执委会决定世界杯的举办地。英国媒体曾挖出其他针对2018年和2022年世界杯举办地评选的指控。涉及于此的人士均否认自己有过失；而英国的指控带了些许恶意，因为英格兰参加了2018年世界杯举办的竞选但大败而归。尽管最新的指控来自国际足联最核心的政治结构。

　　For good or ill, FIFA has much in common with governments whose territories are marked by customs posts rather than goalposts. Like national governments, sporting bodies provide collective goods for their citizens, notes Stefan Szymanski, an economist at in London. They also raise revenue and redistribute wealth. And they are prone¹⁴ to poor administration and to “rent-seeking”—attempts by interest groups, officials and other well-connected people to use their position to gain influence or wealth.

　　不论好坏，国际足联都同领土由海关而非球门柱分界的政府有很多相似之处。伦敦卡斯商学院的经济学家斯蒂芬??西曼斯基（Szymanski）称正如国家的政府一样，运动组织也向他们的市民提供集体财产。它们也提高财政收入，再分配财富。它们易于缺乏管理和“寻租”——利益集团、官员和其他关系紧密者通过自己的地位来获取势力和财富的行为。

　　Start with public goods: in sport, the rules are the most fundamental. Football’s “laws” are overseen¹⁵ by the International Football Association Board (IFAB), on which FIFA has four votes and the national associations of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales have one each, a legacy¹⁶ of the game’s British birth. Six votes are needed for a decision. To many coaches and players, as well as commentators¹⁷ and fans, the IFAB has been too slow to allow modern technology, rather than officials’ eyesight, to decide whether the ball has crossed the goal-line. Many other sports have embraced video and electronic gadgetry¹⁸ at their higher levels.

　　首先从集体财产说起：在运动中，规则是最根本的。足球的“法律”由国际足球联合理事会（International Football Association Board）监督，这个组织共有八名成员，其中四名来自国际足联，另外四名来自该运动的诞生地英国：英格兰、北爱尔兰、苏格兰和威尔士各一票。要通过一个决定需要六票。对很多教练和运动员以及评论家和球迷来说，在让现代科技而不是官员们的势力来决定到底一个球是不是进了这个问题上国际足球联合理事会的许可太慢了。其他很多运动在较高水平的比赛中已经引进了录像和电子器械。

　　A sport’s governors are also supposed to crack down on match-fixing. Football has been dogged by scandals in this area. The latest involved gambling¹⁹ rings in Asia and eastern Europe, and matches ranging from the lower reaches of European leagues to friendly internationals. On May 9th Mr Blatter announced a joint²⁰ effort with Interpol, the global police agency, to stamp out this blight²¹.

　　一项运动的管理者还应该严厉制裁操作比赛的行为。足球一直为假球丑闻困扰。最新的丑闻涉及亚洲和东欧的赌球圈子和各级别的比赛，从级别比较低的欧洲联赛到国际友谊赛。5月9日，布拉特宣布同全球警察机构国际刑警携手铲除这个祸害。

　　In a clearer example of a public good, football’s masters have helped create a global market in talent and entertainment. This reflects a shift in FIFA’s balance of power away from Europe which began in the 1970s, in healthy contrast with Euroheavy bodies like World Bank and the IMF. When Mr Blatter’s predecessor²², Jo??o Havelange, a Brazilian, ousted²³ Sir Stanley Rous, an Englishman, in 1974 it was partly by promising²⁴ non-Europeans more places at the World Cup. The 1978 tournament featured only 16 national teams, ten of them from Europe; since 1998 there have been 32 slots, with more for Asia, Africa, and North and Central America or the Caribbean.

　　足球也对公众有有利的一面，一个比较清晰的例子是足球管理者们帮助创造了一个既有才华又不乏娱乐的全球性市场。这反映了国际足联的力量平衡从20世纪70年代以欧洲为重心转移了出来，与此形成对比的是欧元区一些臃肿的机构，如世界银行（World Bank）和国际货币组织(IMF)。布拉特先生的前任巴西人乔??阿维兰热（Joao Havelange）.在1974年把英国人斯坦利??鲁斯爵士（Sir Stanley Rous）赶下台，他成功的部分原因是他承诺为更多非欧洲国家提供世界杯的席位。1978年举办的世界杯只有16支国家队参赛，其中10支来自欧洲。自1998年起，世界杯决赛阶段参赛国一直是32个，亚洲、非洲和中北美或加勒比海地区得到更多的名额。

　　This has not stopped European countries winning the past two World Cups. And it has helped Europe’s clubs and national leagues. Teams such as Barcelona and Manchester United, who meet in the European Champions League final in London on May 28th, have fans all over the world. That means more money from television and merchandise. Globalisation has also deepened the pool of talent on which European clubs can draw.

　　这并未阻止欧洲国家赢得刚过去的两届世界杯冠军。它对欧洲俱乐部和国家队非常有利。5月28日将在欧冠赛决赛相遇的巴塞罗那队和曼联队在世界各地都有球迷。这意味着从电视和专卖商品更多地获利。全球化还扩大了人才库，欧洲俱乐部可以从中吸纳更多人才。

　　Yet there are costs for clubs in Europe and elsewhere. They must release their players for World Cup and other international matches, from which the stars may return tired or hurt. They may view this as a tax in kind, even though FIFA paid them $40m in all for the use of players in the 2010 World Cup.

　　但是欧洲和其他地区的俱乐部也付出了代价。他们必须放球员去参加世界杯和其他国际赛事，比赛过后这些巨星们也许会劳累或受伤而归。即使国际足联为参加2010年世界杯的球员付给俱乐部4000万美元，俱乐部也可以把球员的疲劳或受伤看做一种赋税。

　　FIFA may not raise true taxes, but it finds revenue easier to come by than many national governments do. It has become increasingly adept²⁵ at exploiting the power of the World Cup to draw a global audience. “France [in 1998] was the last poor World Cup,” said Mr Blatter this week. In 2007-10 FIFA’s revenue was $4.2 billion, up from $2.6 billion in the four years before that. Most of it came from the 2010 World Cup: television rights yielded $2.4 billion and marketing²⁶ rights $1.1 billion.

　　国际足联不会提高真正的税费，但是它的收入来得比很多国家政府要容易。它越来越精于利用世界杯的力量来吸引全世界关注。“法国世界杯（1998年）是最后一届赔本的世界杯，”本周布拉特先生说。在2007年到2010年间，国际足联的收入为42亿美元，比上一个四年的26亿美元提高了不少。大多数的收入来自2010年世界杯：电视转播权获得24亿美元而市场开发权则获得11亿美元。

　　Redistribution in FIFA’s fief is called “development” spending, intended mainly to improve facilities and coaching in poor countries, which amounted to $794m in 2007-10. Some of this went into Goal, a programme set up by Mr Blatter that is now overseen by Mr Bin Hammam. The six regional confederations and the national associations also got an extra handout²⁷ from the World Cup windfall in the form of “extraordinary” payments within FIFA’s Financial Assistance Programme. Finding a little extra money for voters just before an election is rarely a bad idea.

　　国际足联地界上的财富再分配被称作“发展”支出，主要旨在改善贫穷国家的设施和训练情况，在2007年-2010年间这笔指出为7.94亿美元。有些投入到了由布拉特设立、现在由哈曼先生监管的项目“目标”（Goal）里。六个地区性协会和国家级足协也额外得到了世界杯横财的施舍物，是国际足联金融援助计划以“额外的”支付形式发放的。选举前夕，给投票者找点额外之财一般都不是坏主意。

　　As for poor government, FIFA has been supplying examples for years. Take, as just one, the ditching in 2006 of MasterCard, FIFA’s long-term credit-card partner, for Visa—a decision which drew a scathing²⁸ rebuke²⁹ from a New York judge. Andrew Jennings, a British journalist who has long been a thorn in FIFA’s side, aired further claims of pockets lined and sins covered up in a BBC documentary on May 23rd.

　　至于贫穷的政府，国家足联长年都提供参考。仅举一个例子，2006年国际足联抛弃了长期以来的信用卡合作伙伴万事达卡（Mastercard）转而与维萨卡（Visa）合作——这一决定引来一名纽约法官的严厉责难。5月23日播出的一部BBC纪录片里，一直以来都是国际足联眼中钉、肉中刺的英国记者安德鲁．叶林斯（Andrew Jennings）又揭露出一些有关不义之财和违反道德的黑幕。

　　Despite all this, FIFA’s electors have not seemed ready for revolution. What effect the allegations against Mr Bin Hammam will have, no one knows. It is also hard to say how much would change should he, despite everything, manage to unseat Mr Blatter. Both men insist that FIFA is not corrupt³⁰; Mr Bin Hammam has made much of the need for more “transparency”. Certainly, the world’s most popular game needs a better government than the one it has.

　　除此以外，国际足联的选民们似乎还没准备好发动一次变革。没人知道阿曼先生面临的指控到底会有什么影响。也很难讲如果，不管怎样，他成功把布拉特赶下台，到底会有多少变化发生。他们两位都坚称国际足联并不腐败。毫无疑问的是，这项世界最受欢迎的运动需要一个比现在更好的政府。

1 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

2 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

3 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

4 writ   

n.命令状，书面命令

参考例句：

• This is a copy of a writ I received this morning.这是今早我收到的书面命令副本。
• You shouldn't treat the newspapers as if they were Holy Writ. 你不应该把报上说的话奉若神明。

5 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

6 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

7 bribery   

n.贿络行为，行贿，受贿

参考例句：

• FBI found out that the senator committed bribery.美国联邦调查局查明这个参议员有受贿行为。
• He was charged with bribery.他被指控受贿。

8 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

9 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

10 stank   

n. (英)坝，堰，池塘 动词stink的过去式

参考例句：

• Her breath stank of garlic. 她嘴里有股大蒜味。
• The place stank of decayed fish. 那地方有烂鱼的臭味。

11 unearthed   

出土的（考古）

参考例句：

• Many unearthed cultural relics are set forth in the exhibition hall. 展览馆里陈列着许多出土文物。
• Some utensils were in a state of decay when they were unearthed. 有些器皿在出土时已经残破。

12 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

13 miserably   

adv.痛苦地；悲惨地；糟糕地；极度地

参考例句：

• The little girl was wailing miserably. 那小女孩难过得号啕大哭。
• It was drizzling, and miserably cold and damp. 外面下着毛毛细雨，天气又冷又湿，令人难受。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 prone   

adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的

参考例句：

• Some people are prone to jump to hasty conclusions.有些人往往作出轻率的结论。
• He is prone to lose his temper when people disagree with him.人家一不同意他的意见,他就发脾气。

15 overseen   

v.监督，监视( oversee的过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was overseen stealing the letters. 他被人撞见在偷信件。 来自辞典例句
• It will be overseen by ThomasLi, director of IBM China Research Laboratory. 该实验室由IBM中国研究院院长李实恭(ThomasLi)引导。 来自互联网

16 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

17 commentators   

n.评论员( commentator的名词复数 )；时事评论员；注释者；实况广播员

参考例句：

• Sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 体育解说员翻来覆去说着同样的词语，真叫人腻烦。
• Television sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 电视体育解说员说来说去就是那么几句话，令人厌烦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 gadgetry   

n.小机械，小器具

参考例句：

• His desk is covered with electronic gadgetry. 他的书桌上摆满了各种电子装置。
• Then why not just take back all your fancy gadgetry? 那你怎么不把这堆玩意给我撤了？ 来自电影对白

19 gambling   

n.赌博；投机

参考例句：

• They have won a lot of money through gambling.他们赌博赢了很多钱。
• The men have been gambling away all night.那些人赌了整整一夜。

20 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

21 blight   

n.枯萎病；造成破坏的因素；vt.破坏，摧残

参考例句：

• The apple crop was wiped out by blight.枯萎病使苹果全无收成。
• There is a blight on all his efforts.他的一切努力都遭到挫折。

22 predecessor   

n.前辈，前任

参考例句：

• It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

23 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

24 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

25 adept   

adj.老练的，精通的

参考例句：

• When it comes to photography,I'm not an adept.要说照相，我不是内行。
• He was highly adept at avoiding trouble.他十分善于避开麻烦。

26 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

27 handout   

n.散发的文字材料；救济品

参考例句：

• I read the handout carefully.我仔细看了这份分发的资料。
• His job was distributing handout at the street-corner.他的工作是在街头发传单。

28 scathing   

adj.（言词、文章）严厉的，尖刻的；不留情的adv.严厉地，尖刻地v.伤害，损害（尤指使之枯萎）( scathe的现在分词)

参考例句：

• a scathing attack on the new management 针对新的管理层的猛烈抨击
• Her speech was a scathing indictment of the government's record on crime. 她的演讲强烈指责了政府在犯罪问题上的表现。 来自《简明英汉词典》

29 rebuke   

v.指责，非难，斥责 [反]praise

参考例句：

• He had to put up with a smart rebuke from the teacher.他不得不忍受老师的严厉指责。
• Even one minute's lateness would earn a stern rebuke.哪怕迟到一分钟也将受到严厉的斥责。

30 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。