经济学人下载:美丽的运动,丑陋的政治

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 gambling 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 joint effort with Interpol, the global police agency, to stamp out this blight.

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 predecessor, Jo??o Havelange, a Brazilian, ousted Sir Stanley Rous, an Englishman, in 1974 it was partly by promising 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 adept 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 marketing 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。