ESPN’s ex-top exec describes how soccer’s World Cup was lost
DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — A former ESPN executive underscored how big money corrupted soccer, testifying in U.S. District Court on Tuesday that his company’s bid to televise the World Cup might have been sabotaged by two former Fox executives accused of bribing officials to undermine competing offers.
ESPN’s former president, John Skipper, told a federal court in Brooklyn that ESPN and Univision had jointly bid $900 million — with $400 million from ESPN — for broadcasting rights to the two most recent World Cups, including the recently completed one in Qatar.
Prosecutors allege inside information helped Fox secure U.S. English-language rights to the tournament from FIFA.