For those of you slightly confused or even overwhelmed by the stories emerging from FIFA headquarters in Zurich this week, we understand your pain. Fasten your seatbelts and let us try to tell you what is at stake.

On Wednesday the body which runs world football, FIFA, will vote for its new president. The incumbent Sepp Blatter is favorite to land the job, largely because he’s the only candidate in the race.

But this is the most senior job in world football, so why has an election to a post of such importance attracted fewer candidates than the campaign to become student union treasurer at my local college?

The straightforward answer is because the only other candidate in the race, the Asian football chief Mohamed Bin Hammam, was suspended on Sunday from football activity along with FIFA vice-president Jack Warner.

They are being investigated about allegations that envelopes stuffed with cash were offered to football bosses in the Caribbean earlier this month as Bin Hammam was on the election trail. Meanwhile, Blatter was cleared of wrongdoing and is free to stand.

But the real answer lies much deeper than this. You have to look at the system and not only the men in charge. Yes, we need to sweep through FIFA’s corridors of power with an extremely large broom if we are to effect change, but reform should not stop there.

There is something systemically wrong when an organization which runs the world’s biggest sport and controls millions of dollars in TV revenues and sponsorship permits a small number of individuals to make most of the big decisions.

There is little or no accountability, no evidence of transparency or even fair play. At the vote – the secret vote – to decide where the World Cups in 2018 and 2022 would be staged, most delegates agreed England were favorites for the former and either the U.S. or Australia for the latter.

But logic and the technical quality of those bids did not sway the jury – so what did? One suspects the morals of a saint would be severely tested if afforded the status of FIFA executive committee membership.

These decisions have caused anger and outrage, and unleashed a sea of claim and counterclaim, allegations of corruption and several investigations both inside FIFA and abroad.

But on Monday Blatter boldly announced to the world’s media that there is "no crisis."  This at a time when Blatter has had to explain why he spent $1 million on development projects while on the election trail, and the general secretary Jerome Valcke has had to "clarify" what he meant when he said Qatar "bought" the 2022 World Cup.

He didn’t mean it, he explained, after his comments in an email were leaked by Warner, a temporarily suspended colleague and possibly former friend.

The allegations of corruption against the men running world football have been relentless. In fact, the growing number of accusations of corruption against senior members by fellow senior members and organizations which they represent or do business with has actually become difficult to monitor.

But surely in light of these allegations and the chaos surrounding FIFA, the election should be suspended, at least until the other candidate has finished his suspension, or more time is given for an alternative candidate to emerge? Good question.

But not in FIFA-land, not in the place where due process has been properly observed and there is nothing wrong. Again, they are hiding behind a systemic failure.

We’re way past comparisons with crooked corporations and corrupt councils - FIFA is now unhappily in a farcical league of its own, and all it can do is bury its head in the sand, claim that all is well and ignore the deafening calls for reform.

They have come from many quarters, but FIFA cares little for such disrespectful comment. Politicians from Australia and England – where a sense of fair play is felt so keenly – and the English Football Association are among them. But they’re missing the point. FIFA's elite, and Blatter in particular, have shown they care little for this criticism, saying they are playing by the rules.

Now some of FIFA’s key sponsors have expressed concern about the situation. Never mind the media, politicians and fans, it will be interesting to see how the system reacts to a potential threat to its financial security.

Every major tournament has its memorable moment, an occasion when the plucky underdog pulls off an unexpected victory against a giant of the game. It is all part of the unforgettable drama that only an international sporting event can produce.

The football game that goes into extra time and penalties, the fifth set in a gladiatorial tennis encounter, or the cricket match that comes down to the last ball.

It’s what makes sport unpredictable, exciting and addictive.

Unfortunately it seems that is not a view shared by cricket’s governing body, the International Cricket Council.

It is under the impression that it would be much more fun to ban the minnows, making sure the chance of any genuine sporting drama is reduced to a bare minimum.

The ICC has decided to reduce the number of teams at the next World Cup to just 10 - the member nations, who compete in international Tests.

This is both an insult to the countries that will be shut out, and a move that will set the game’s development back for years.

Can you imagine FIFA adopting a similar approach? Even the men who want to stage football’s World Cup in a desert are not foolish enough to reduce the number of matches, and therefore revenue, exposure and marketing opportunities from their prized tournament.

One of the nations being unceremoniously dumped from the competition is Ireland, a team which produced such wonderful performances in India last month, including a victory over England off the back of a fine century by Kevin O’Brien.

To add insult to injury, Ireland’s successful tournament means they are now actually ranked higher in the one-day game than member nation Zimbabwe - another statistic which is clearly irrelevant to the wise men of the ICC.

The Irish authorities have used every adjective imaginable to describe their anger and frustration about the team’s exclusion from the next competition. They say it will seriously damage the development of the game.

And that is the biggest crime.

The ICC has managed to turn the post-tournament euphoria into anger and recrimination. It is, in both PR and sporting terms, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. At a time when those who run cricket should be seeking to capitalize on a wave of fresh interest in the sport, they have instead done their level best to ensure the game will suffer in the ‘smaller’ cricketing countries.

This negative move will hit the game harder with every passing year as fickle fans hungry for success will turn to other sports, run by organizations with smarter and more coherent strategies to engage international sports enthusiasts.

Johannesburg, South Africa (CNN) – Germany did it with great success. Argentina and Brazil are doing it right now, and both teams are setting the pace in South Africa. Holland did it with less impressive results. But these great footballing nations weren’t afraid to try it - and now it’s time for the English Football Association to fast-track one of its favourite sons into managing the national side.

The FA has told Fabio Capello that he will learn his fate soon. Capello is a proud man with an enviable record in the game – he's a proven winner. But despite the hype surrounding his appointment - not to mention his wage demands – he has proved to be another disappointment for the FA and English football fans.

Capello should be let go and replaced by David Beckham. The FA’s hitherto unsuccessful policy of searching the planet for a coach has left the game’s commentators asking: Is this the only solution? Is the country that brought the game to the world now so tactically deficient that - like an emerging football nation - it needs to go and ask the experts for some help? And how much more compensation is the FA prepared to pay for sacking its big-name signings?

There are very few players – very few people – who know the England set-up as well as Beckham. This experience cannot be underplayed; several former international players have told me that being part of the England team – or any national side – is akin to being part of a club. It’s a way of life, with tradition, values and of course a unique set of pressures.

The case in favor of handing Becks the job is compelling. He has shown he is a born leader with the respect of his men. He is one of the most-capped players in England’s history, and has played in three World Cups. Only an injury prevented him from playing any part in a fourth this year.

But Beckham was in South Africa, condemned to the bench and kicking every ball with his teammates from afar. And this helps understand his key attribute: Beckham understands the importance of England to the fans. He understands that it is not enough to just pull on an England shirt.

More than any of his contemporaries, Beckham has the ability to balance the privileged position of the modern footballer with the determination to succeed for his country. Which other player would roll up his sleeves and drag the team to a World Cup finals in the way Beckham did against Greece in 2001?

And, of course, there is national pride. Both the fans and the FA need someone in the top job who is not only someone they respect, and not only someone with great football experience, but someone who can restore their belief. For some of the richest men in world sport, does an extra million dollars a year on their contracts really provide the necessary incentive to dedicate their hearts and souls to the cause? It’s impossible to judge.

Franz Beckenbauer was one of the most talented, most-capped players in the history of the game. After two short spells in the U.S. with New York Cosmos he returned to his native West Germany in 1984 as coach of the national squad. He took the team to two consecutive World Cup finals – winning the trophy in 1990.

Beckham may not make the team sheet in the all-time World XI, but he can be England’s Beckenbauer. Like the Germans in the 1980s, the FA needs to lure its hero back from the States, where he is still under contract with Los Angeles Galaxy. If it’s good enough for the likes of Brazil, Argentina and Germany, then it’s good enough for England too.

Soweto, South Africa – It was quite simply one of the loudest and most colorful starts to a football match, but the players and the pitch were nowhere to be seen -– except on a giant TV screen.

More than 20,000 fans dressed in yellow and green descended on Soweto’s Elkah Stadium to witness the start of Africa’s first ever World Cup.

Crowds started to gather hours before the match eager to soak up the atmosphere, which could easily be summed up in one word: loud.

Actually two words: unbelievably loud. It was so loud you actually had to shout at the person standing next to you to make yourself heard.

Perhaps it was the live bands, or maybe the screaming fans. But I’ve been to football matches and been blasted by speakers at live concerts before. That was just a gentle background soundtrack compared with the deafening noise of tens of thousands of vuvuzelas being relentlessly blown by the excited crowd.

The scene was as colorful as it was loud. The fans were dancing and waving flags. They were wearing wigs and hats, their faces painted in the yellow and green of Bafana Bafana.

As kick off approached the tension reached fever pitch, the national anthem greeted by a huge roar as the crowds watched their heroes line up on the giant TV screen.

Every save was cheered as the South Africans soaked up Mexican pressure in the tense first half. The two teams were understandably nervous, and for a moment I could actually hear myself think. This was a welcome break: for most of the day Robyn Curnow, the correspondent, cameraman Chevan Rayson, the engineer Jason Heap and I simply couldn’t hear anything on the phone and we couldn’t hear CNN’s output in our ears. More often than not we had to use an elaborate system of hand signals to give poor Robyn her cue to talk.

But the excitement on the pitch was soon to follow in an exhilarating second half. The home team scored the opening goal of the tournament –- and what a goal it was. A spectacular strike which was no less than the fans and the competition deserved, such has been the excitement here.

The crowd went wild with celebration, running in different directions, jumping, screaming and blowing their vuvuzelas for all they were worth. Luckily we were in the crowd shooting some colour pictures and Chevan was well placed to record the moment.

Mexico eventually scored an equalizer but even that wasn’t enough to dampen spirits or put a lid on the noise.

As the match ended the crowds drifted away. Some stayed to enjoy the music but it’s winter here and watching football on a big screen in the cold and dark was not an option for most of the residents of Soweto.

I hope this tournament will be remembered for great football, and that the carnival atmosphere continues all the way to the final. But one thing’s for sure –- South Africa 2010 will be remembered for the noise.