BulletProofBlog the blog on crisis communications

When it comes to the World Cup, international competition isn’t solely relegated to the playing field. Since even before the 2010 iteration of the world’s most popular sporting event began, numerous countries have been vying for the honor of hosting the tournament in 2022 – and for the hundreds of millions of dollars in revenues that come with it.

For one of those countries, however, the dream of attracting hundreds of thousands of soccer fans from around the world may have ended before it ever really got off the ground.

Last month, soccer’s world governing body, the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), announced that it was launching an investigation into corruption allegations related to Australia’s bid for the 2022 World Cup. Amid rumors of expensive gifts and travel lavished on FIFA officials by representatives of the Football Federation Australia (FFA), there is wide speculation that Australia’s hopes of hosting an event that could generate four times more spending than the 2000 Olympics have been irreparably damaged.

While FFA officials staunchly deny any wrong-doing and the outcome of the investigation has yet to be decided, business interests around the world have been provided another stark reminder of corruption’s growing capacity to put an end to new or existing business ventures.

With today’s global companies and organizations becoming increasingly sensitive to the reputational and bottom line risks that corruption presents, unethical practices that might be thought to provide a leg up in competitive bidding processes are now far more likely to have the opposite effect.

Michael W. Robinson is a Senior Vice President and Chair of the Corporate Practice at Levick Strategic Communications, the world’s top crisis firm. He is also a contributing author to Bulletproof Blog™. Connect with Levick on Twitter: @Levick.