He had to resign, there was no other way. But, then again, how many times do we actually see people do the right thing.

I thought the only way the world of soccer would get rid of Joseph Blatter would be with him in handcuffs.

And that’s the real story here.

Just like FIFA being corrupt was nothing an even casual soccer fan didn’t already know, we all knew  Blatter was the mastermind and ringleader. The story was that somebody actually went after FIFA and that Blatter stepped down on his own.

Even when the whole world he had Even when the whole world he had built over the past 30 years was crumbling all around him, Blatter reacted defiantly and disgusted at the allegations that he and FIFA were anything other than pure.

Now, let’s say we give him the benefit of the doubt and believe that he was not aware of what those directly under him were doing in terms of corruption.

I’m not sure what would be worse, this scenario or the real one in which he was part of the whole thing. He would either be completely incompetent, allowing those directly under his watch to corrupt the game, or the criminal he is slowly being proven to be.

Either way, his resignation was the only action that made sense.

Now what? Does this mean soccer is now free? We’re back to the sport being the focus and not playing second fiddle to money? Can Dorothy now get back home?

Not so fast, she still has to get to the Emerald City and find the Wizard.

Yes, it is huge that FIFA and all of its officials are being run down, but there is still a lot of work to be done.

First, we have to realize that nobody is clean at FIFA. Not Luis Figo, not Michel Platini, not even the Americans who are leading the charge for change. All these people knew what was going on, they were part of the system and all of a sudden they want it to change. Why?

Here is my theory: Blatter and company got too cocky. It’s not that the U.S. all of a sudden had enough evidence to go after FIFA, they always did. But that’s the way the world works—it’s not black and white—most everything is operated in a grey area, and the powers that be will let you operate as long as it does not affect them negatively.

Blatter forgot about the powers that be, he thought he was above them, and in giving Qatar the World Cup in 2022, he pissed off the ones that could make the most damage.

It’s not that the U.S. is concerned about the health of world soccer, they just really wanted and thought they deserved a World Cup. Blatter played them and now they are making him pay for it.

I hope real change does come, I hope new blood is infused into FIFA and it fixes the biggest problem in soccer—the system.

As of right now, the system remains the same and the fact that FIFA’s 209 members all have the same weight begs for corruption. As long as a country like Haiti has the ssame power as World Cup winners such as Brazil and Germany, it does not matter who is running FIFA.

I hope the U.S. continues to pressure for reforms and doesn’t back off once they get their World Cup.

Qatar and Russia should automatically be stripped of their right to host the world’s biggest tournament. Giving the 2018 tournament to someone other than the U.S. would be flirting with the possibility of that country not being ready.

The U.S. is ready to host a World Cup tomorrow. We have the infrastructure, the stadiums and the desire.

Luis Gonzalez may be reached at [email protected]