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International intrigue abounds in this novel that explores Russia’s bid to host the World Cup in 2018. The story opens with high stakes wheeling and dealing in full swing to secure the Euro 2016 football championships, which will have reverberations for the World Cup staging. As the story progresses, the inner workings of bids for international sports competitions are explored alongside the preparation by host countries as they grapple with funding, resources, and infrastructure. The behind-the-scenes machinations of football competitions prove interesting material to illuminate a myriad of political, economic, and social issues.
Murphy powerfully reveals the impact international sporting events like the Euro and the World Cup have on the communities where stadiums are erected, taxes are increased, and infrastructure plows through local businesses with airports, trains, lodging, and roads. All the while, corruption fuels the process in the background. Murphy expertly tells the saga through multiple characters across several countries covering a wide range of interests and unique issues with each international locale. The timeline speeds along with vignettes that ultimately render startling insights about international sports and the organizations, like FIFA, behind them. Murphy creates a feeling of insider access with his portrayal of powerful businessmen, politicians, investigators, and journalists.
Murphy ramps up the corruption as the story continues, and dangerous consequences lurk in the aftermath of accusations and investigations. This fictional look at the underbelly of the World Cup strikes a realistic tone that will leave readers longing for the purity of the beautiful game on a pitch untouched by the power players of the football organizations.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review