Let the games begin

threat. Australia is o n e of the 32 teams com peting but the expectation s from the Socceroos are low.

Hope you are getting ready for some late nights. Four weeks of riveting football in the sporting spectacle th at is the 2014 FIFA World Cup are upon us, and the so-called g lobal football crises (G FC) will surely be forgotten as some marvellous athletes bring the attention back to the spo r t.

32 teams will fight it out to be crowned world champions, as a few billion people watch. Afte r contesting six games each in the lead u p, the two top reams will comest the finals on July 13th.

Host country Brazil is just as footballmad as India is cricket crazy : no doubt it has huge expeccatio n s of its own team But not if rhe 2010 winners Spain have anything to do with it. Meanwhile, though Argentina has some wonderful players, it i s nor the most popular team in the competition and most lovers of the game are hop ing, anyone but Argentina! Of course, the Englis h press will go feral if their lads do not bring home the cup, and Ge rmany is always a dangerous opponent. Asian and African ream s will be exciting but pose no serious

\Vhile the teams jos tle for tbe positions on the winning podium, the mess which surrounds the popular sports of football and cricket will be tempora rily fo rgotten Sports and corruption seem ro have a dangerous nexus. It is tempting by the decision makers, either as players or administrators, to manipulate event~ ro tl1eir advantage, as tl1e 9uantun1 o f monies in sport these days is staggeri ng.

Countries which win the mandate to host these events need to set up infrastrucmre i1wolving billions of d oll ars Besides national prestige, it gives the local politicians an international platform to be recognised.

What needs to be managed is the bidding process, as the football world 's governing body FIFA i s discovering after the allegations of corruption were levelled against the winning bid of Qacar for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Qatar overcame competitio n from Australia, Japan, South Korea and the United States to be named as 2022 hosts. But the bidding process has been hie by a series of corruption claims. While on o ne hand British tabloids have l ed the charge on tl1e.se allegations, FffA Presidem Sepp Blatter has accused them of racism and discrimination. It appears that a fo rmer FIFJ\ Vice Pres ident, a Qarari, helped lobby and paid football officials around the world to secure the bid for his counrric But w hi le that might be uncomfortable for Qatar and for FIFA, it is not clear tl1at he, o r the bid, broke any of the governing body's b idding rul es.

FIFA executive co mmittee members were nor subject to the same restrictions p laced o n bid officials, while all b id ding nations used heads of scare a n d se ni or government figures co try ro win votes American lawyer l'vlicbae l Garcia is currently invo lved i.n an independent investigation into the b idding process and j5 due to deliver his report to FIFA after the World cup concludes.

\Vbar is clear is that the rule s have not been kep t up to date with the changes in rlie management of these sports. With b illi ons at stake, the poss ibility is tbere that a delegate's vo te could be in fluenced. While the global game te n ds to unite all, the clispariry amongst the nations and voting delegates i s such that temptations to favour a b i.cl can certainl y arise. Peshaps there need s to be a weighti n g given co delegates' vores, then committees on technical , economic and social merits of the bid can minimise any b ias. Diluting the power of a few can strengthe n the fumre of the game.

Bachelor Of Business Administration

September 2014, January and September 2015 Intake

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• Pa rt-time accelerated program that can be completed in under two years

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SPIRITUAL

Sydney Jain Mandal

Sun mornings 9.30am-1 1.30am

Sydney Jain Manda! now conducts its activi ties fr o m new premi ses 7/15-17Tucks Road, Seven Hills. Come along and d o your own pooja , meditation and be part of the cen t re

Detai l s: Abha Jain 0432 248 79 1 or www sydneyjainmandal.com

Sri Karya Siddhi Hanuman Puja

Sat June 28 5.30pm onwards

With the blessings of Parama Pujya Sri Gan apat hy Sach chidananda Swamiji, Pontiff of Avadhoota Da t ta Peetham, Mysore, India, Datta Yoga Cen t re (Sydney) invites you to participa t e in Sri Karya Siddh i Hanuman Puja at Reg Byrne

Community Cen t re, corner of Darcy Road and Fyall Ave, Went worthville Mahaprasad will be served after the puja Free even t All are we l come. Please RSVP to dycsydney@gmai l.co m

Details: Vikas Mohta 0434 218 587 or Santosh Vanka 0412 677 670 or email: dycsydney@gmail.com

FUNDRAISER

Pri Kumar 's Charity Fashi on Show

Sat 14 June 2-5pm

(show st arts a t 2.30pm)

This show is to raise funds for the Leukaemia Fou n dation an d is a not-for-profit event. Enjoy special performances and have a great shopp in g experience. Venue is Pennan t Hills Community Cen t re, Corner of Yarra Road and Ramsay Road, Pennant Hills (in library b u ildi ng). Tickets $35.

Details and tickets 0422 497 926 or: prikumarcharityfashionshow@ gmail.com

Book drive

Ten stu dents of speech pathology from Fli nders University, Adelaide, will be travelling to India to provide voluntary speech therapy assistance to children and families l iving wit h disabil ity They are looking for dona t ions o f new o r preloved chi l dren's picture b ooks in good condition Any donations of I n dianthemed books (eg. Panchatantra Tales) wil l be extremel y u seful.

Details: Adam Caruana 04 30 923 856 or caru0043@flinders.ed u.a u

MISC

Yoga cla sses

Series of yoga classes for children, seniors and all others Nominal charges appl y for children; seniors' classes are free Across various locations in Sydney at Wentworthville, Quakers Hill, Pennant Hill, Auburn Epping, Homebush and Ryde Organised by the Spirit of India's community devel opment in it i atives. Limited seats, admission on a first come, first served basis. Enrol by visiting www.spiritofindia org or emai l spiritofindia2002@yahoo com

Seniors: contactus@spiritofindia org

Detai ls: Suresh 0412 202 182, Raja 0402 789 109, Sudh i r 0409 600 117.

Settlement seminar for new migrants

Sun 1 S Jun e 11 am -1pm

Federation of Austral i an Indian Associations (FAIA) is organising t h i s free event, in association with Community Migrant Resource Centre (CMRC). To be held at Granville Town Hall, 10 Carlton Street, Granville, it will cover a range of topics relevant to new migrants Limited seats available.

Details: Neera Sri vastava 0415 807 520 or Swamy Narayan 0411236953.

SydneyS a khiS a ngam

Sun 2 2 June 11 am onwards

Annual women's event Sakhi Sangam will be held at the Croatian Club, Punchbowl.

Details: Nandini 0423 684 34 0, Sushma 0411 967 374 or Preeti 0402 034 959.

Essay writi ng compet ition Australian university and tertiary instituti on students are invited to participate in an essay-writing competition on the topic Bhagavad Gita as it is. Cash prize $10,000 Deadl i ne for essay is November 28 and essays must be 2,500 to 3,000 words

Details: Satya Armstrong enq ui ri es@bga sitisessay com .au or 02 8005 6140 or www bgasitisessay.com.au