The failure of England’s World Cup bid was, according to many commentators, because we were not sufficiently engaged with FIFA. The English were playing football long before FIFA was established and we always stood slightly aloof from the international game, never really taking the trouble to engage with FIFA, let alone taking much interest in what it did (other than to criticise).
That argument is a bit spurious because Sir Stanley Rous was president of FIFA for 13 years from 1961, but that was a long time ago and not many people today could even name the English representative on the FIFA committee, let alone place their faith in him as a fixer on the same level as Sepp Blatter.
The British delegates did a tremendous job in lobbying and gladhanding FIFA but it was too little too late. Not their fault, William and the two Daves were parachuted in to lend gravitas to the bid. But the bid had probably failed long ago, because the FIFA representatives did not see England as one of theirs.
Everybody knows that the best way to get a job is to connect as closely as possible with the inner sanctum of decision makers. It’s the first thing we Career Professionals tell our clients. It’s not always an easy thing to do, but it is certainly worth aspiring to.
If nothing else the World Cup bid should show job seekers just why networking is so important. If the English had networked their way into the upper echelons of FIFA, been seen as a player, not a critic, and demonstrated that they had something of value to give to international football’s governing body, the World Cup bid decision may well have turned out differently. Job hunting is exactly the same. The better connected you are, the greater chance of success.
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