The Ecuadorian national soccer team celebrates a goal as they kick off the World Cup against Qatar. The soccer competition is mired in controversy as it tries to unite the world. (Image: RTE.ie<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nSoccer is moved by two forces. One is the passion that this sport generates in millions of people. It’s something magical, 90 minutes (plus any extra) for fans to escape from existence.<\/p>\n
The other force is money. From the million-dollar broadcasting rights of the leagues and tournaments to the paraphernalia of each team, soccer is a vast source of income. Some believe FIFA has been nothing more than a breeding ground for greed, and this allowed a recent rumor of match-fixing<\/a> to run wild. However, the rumor may have been just that and nothing more.<\/p>\nThrowing the First Kick<\/h2>\n
Someone launched a rumor that Qatar began offering bribes to Ecuadorian players to throw the first game. The team allegedly offered around $47 million if the South American squad would take a dive.<\/p>\n
That rocked FIFA as it still continues to try to clean its tarnished name. However, once everyone began digging into the rumor a little deeper, they found that it wasn’t true.<\/strong><\/p>\nThe source of the story was journalist Amjad Taha, a Bahrain national living in England. The use of journalist with Taha must be taken loosely, as he has a history of distributing false information, according to several media sources.<\/p>\n