The FIFA World Cup starts on Thursday, but it's in the news today not for the games about to kick off in Brazil, but for the 2022 games planned for Qatar. Sponsors Sony, Adidas, Visa and Coca-Cola are up in arms over a fresh round of allegations that the sovereign Arab emirate landed the World Cup through improper means.

For Americans who may not closely follow the World Cup or the shenanigans of its Zurich-based international governing body, HBO's John Oliver has come to the rescue. In an extended rant delivered as a part of last night's "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver," the soccer-loving Brit calls the Fédération Internationale de Football Association "a comically grotesque organization" with a history of corruption and scandals, explains why Brazil will be financially worse off once the games are over ("Brazil, let me put this in terms you might understand: Think of money as pubic hair and FIFA as wax"), and takes a look at the deadly, slavery-like conditions surrounding the construction of soccer facilities in Qatar.

Simon Dumenco is the "Media Guy" columnist for Advertising Age. You can follow him on Twitter @simondumenco.