FIFA - Men On A Mission

Page 1

COVER STORY | SOCCER

Publicly unpopular but protected by his power base, Fifa president Sepp Blatter has come to personify the fault lines in global soccer politics. He looks set to stay in office for a controversial fifth term but a concerted European effort has been launched to stop him. By Eoin Connolly

I

n public life, there is a stage at which the personal and the corporate image intertwine. The failures and successes and strengths and shortcomings of the individual are projected on to the organisation, and vice YHUVD $IWHU \HDUV LQ RIÀFH DQG ZLWK over 20 years as an executive before that, Fifa president Sepp Blatter has long since passed that point of perception. For his supporters, that means he is D ÀJXUH LQGLYLVLEOH IURP WKH ULVH RI WKH world’s most popular sport in some of its poorer countries. For his opponents, he is the face of an organisation whose credibility has entirely disintegrated. It has come to the point where European soccer’s governing body, Uefa, has broken ranks to call openly for his replacement. Fifa has been here before, and so have the Europeans. Back in 2011 England’s Football Association, still smarting from the treatment dished out to its technically strong World Cup bid the previous December, made a stunted effort to prevent Blatter proceeding through the election unopposed. The move failed on a scale which showed not only the lack of credible options after the expulsion of the disgraced Qatari candidate Mohammed bin Hammam, but also the grip in which the incumbent has the most powerful role in the game. 46 | www.sportspromedia.com

Nevertheless, it was set to be a last term LQ RIĂ€FH IRU WKH WKHQ \HDU ROG Four years on and Blatter has gone back on that particular pledge, Ă€QDOO\ FRQĂ€UPLQJ LQ D SUH UHFRUGHG interview for last year’s Soccerex Global Convention that he would accede to the wishes of dozens of national associations and put himself forward as a candidate IRU D Ă€IWK WLPH ´$ PLVVLRQ LV QHYHU Ă€QLVKHG Âľ KH VDLG JQRPLFDOO\ DW WKH WLPH He has since expanded on that statement in a January interview with CNN. ´, KDYH WR VD\ , KDYH QRW Ă€QLVKHG P\ mission because it’s a mission to be in IRRWEDOO Âľ KH VDLG ´:H KDYH VWDUWHG LQ 2011 with the reform process. The reform process is not over. I would like to have WKHVH IRXU \HDUV WR Ă€QLVK LW DQG WR VKRZ WKDW IRRWEDOO LV PRUH WKDQ D JDPH Âľ So Sepp Blatter will be running in another election for the Fifa presidency and the likelihood is that he will win, with support already pledged from VHQLRU Ă€JXUHV LQ VHYHUDO FRQIHGHUDWLRQV most notably Africa’s CAF. What has changed, however, is that opposition to his leadership has manifested itself at ever higher levels of the game. A full term of scandal and discord has given rise to ever louder calls for his removal – from the public, the media, and pressure groups like New Fifa Now. A procession of independent investigators and consultants

has been brought in to lift Fifa out of its administrative malaise. Transparency International walked before their work was over, damning an uncooperative partner, while the likes of Dr Mark Pieth and 0LFKDHO *DUFLD KDYH EHHQ OHIW GLVVDWLVĂ€HG with the use of their time. Uefa, in particular, has marshalled opposition to Blatter in the past 12 months. But Europe’s confederation has QRW EHHQ DEOH WR Ă€QG D Ă€JXUH DPRQJ WKH Swiss’ peers to take him on and its own president, Michel Platini, has decided a ORQJ PRRWHG UXQ ZRXOG EH WRR PXFK RI D risk to his own career. That a challenge to the Fifa hierarchy carries the potential of personal damage is a widely held contention, as Sports Illustrated soccer writer Grant Wahl discovered when he tried to stand as a satirical candidate four years ago. ´, ZHQW WR WKH 8HID &RQJUHVV LQ and I had a meeting with, I think I can say it now, a member of the Italian FA >),*&@ Âľ KH WROG VRFFHU ZHEVLWH 7KH 6HW 3LHFHV LQ -DQXDU\ ´7KH JX\ WROG PH that the problem was that it was a public nomination. There would be blowback for whoever nominated me. The election is a secret ballot and he told me I’d get Clockwise from top left: Fifa presidential candidates Prince Ali bin Al-Hussein of Jordan, the KNVB’s Michael van Praag, Portugal’s Luis Figo and Swiss incumbent Sepp Blatter

SportsPro Magazine | 47

COVER STORY | SOCCER

“There was a view that Fifa was a vindictive place. Bad things would come back to anyone who nominated me.â€? votes if I got there, but that no one would take the risk of nominating me. ´,W LQFUHDVHG P\ GHVLUH WR JHW D nomination and get into the election because it would be hilarious. But literally no one was going to nominate me. There was no incentive to do so and there was a view that Fifa was a vindictive place. Bad things would come back to anyone who QRPLQDWHG PH Âľ Instead of a Uefa heavyweight, then, there stands assembled a trio of candidates who for all their strengths are essentially expendable at Fifa level. 7KH Ă€UVW RI WKHVH LV WKH SUHVLGHQW of the Jordan Football Association, \HDU ROG 3ULQFH $OL %LQ $O +XVVHLQ He declared his candidacy at the start of the year and drew nominations from the US, England, Jordan, Belarus, Malta and *HRUJLD ² Ă€YH EHLQJ UHTXLUHG IRU HQWU\ ,Q D IRXU \HDU VWLQW DV D )LID YLFH SUHVLGHQW he has developed a reputation as a reformist. He can also point to practical achievements, leading a campaign to allow female players to wear the hijab in a bid to boost participation and acceptance in the Gulf region and beyond. Yet his seat on the Fifa executive committee will go in the coming months DV SDUW RI D UHVKXIĂ H DW WKH $VLDQ Football Confederation (AFC), and he has already decided not to seek another one. 7KH VHFRQG Ă€QDOLVW WR GHFODUH ZDV Michael van Praag, the chairman of the Netherlands’ Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB). He received letters of nomination from Belgium, Sweden, Scotland, Romania, the Faroe Islands and the Netherlands. Again, he is well respected and his credentials are impressive: he is a former chairman of storied Dutch club Ajax, and a member of the Uefa executive committee. But, again, he is a man with few concerns about losing IULHQGV DW )LID¡V =XULFK KHDGTXDUWHUV The third candidate to successfully enter the race is a wild card and one of the great footballers of this young century. Portugal’s Luis Figo won medals and admirers around the world through stellar spells at Barcelona, 48 | www.sportspromedia.com

Real Madrid and Inter Milan. Now he has earned the support of Denmark, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland and, naturally, Portugal to pursue his Ă€UVW VHQLRU UROH LQ IRRWEDOO DGPLQLVWUDWLRQ Experience may be an issue, but stardust will not be in short supply. ´)RRWEDOO KDV JLYHQ PH VR PXFK LQ P\ life, and I now want to give something back WR WKH JDPH WKDW KDV VKDSHG PH VR GHHSO\ Âľ VDLG )LJR ODXQFKLQJ KLV VHOI IXQGHG candidacy at Wembley Stadium in February. ´6HFRQG LQ UHFHQW PRQWKV DQG HYHQ \HDUV I like most of you in this room have seen the image of football getting deteriorated. I speak to many people in football – players, managers and associations presidents. They have told me something has to be changed and I agree with that. This is why I chose to become Fifa president. I’m not the kind of man that sits beside and refuses to act. I want a new style of leadership of Fifa that can restore transparency, cooperation DQG VROLGDULW\ Âľ Two candidates have fallen by the wayside. One of them, like Figo, was a WZLQNOH WRHG ZLQJHU IURP D UHFHQW HUD EXW David Ginola’s candidacy – a vehicle for the mischief of bookmaker Paddy Power DQG ODUJHO\ QRWDEOH IRU D LOO FRQVLGHUHG SODQ to combine the men’s and women’s World Cups – looked doomed from the outset. The other candidate was also the Ă€UVW WR GHFODUH -pU{PH &KDPSDJQH LV D former diplomat and Fifa executive who announced plans to stand in September 2014. He withdrew after only securing three nominators – none of whom he will name – before the 29th January deadline. The Frenchman believes he was making progress in his attempts to put together a viable application before the arrival of Figo, van Praag and Prince Ali. ´, GLGQ¡W JHW WKH Ă€YH OHWWHUV EHFDXVH LW was clear that there was one side who didn’t want me in the campaign and another side who didn’t want to weaken WKH JOREDO UHDFWLRQ DJDLQVW WKH Ă€UVW FDPS Âľ he suggests, speaking to SportsPro in the days after his campaign foundered. ´7RGD\ LW¡V FOHDUO\ D Ă€JKW IRU ZKR ZLOO

control the world governance. Of course, in the rest of the world but also in parts of eastern Europe, they don’t want Uefa WR FRQWURO )LID 7KDW¡V FOHDU Âľ Champagne sees himself as the ´LQGHSHQGHQW FDQGLGDWH EHWZHHQ WZR institutions with all the means on both VLGHVÂľ ZKR IRXQG KLPVHOI ´FUXVKHG EHWZHHQ WKH WZRÂľ +H LV LQ QR GRXEW WKDW the campaigns of the three challengers in the race have been orchestrated by Uefa. ´)RU H[DPSOH LI \RX ORRN DW WKH OLVW RI the FAs which signed letters for the three Uefa candidates, I know one of them which went as far – in front of witnesses – to tell the Uefa administration that they ZRXOG YRWH IRU PH Âľ KH VD\V ´$QG WKH\ FKDQJHG LQ PLG -DQXDU\ ,¡OO WHOO \RX ZK\ EHFDXVH LQ PLG -DQXDU\ WKHUH ZDV D PHHWLQJ in Lisbon where there was a celebration organised by the Portuguese FA [FPF] – and you understand also why Figo is in the race – and some of the European federations were called by the Uefa administration for a meeting saying, ‘OK, you are not going to sign a letter saying you DUH IRU -pU{PH &KDPSDJQH ¡ $QG , NQRZ Ă€UVW KDQG E\ VRPH SUHVLGHQWV RI WKH )$V Âľ Certainly, there are some details which seem to support Champagne’s assertion – and it is not one he is alone in making. For one thing, both Prince Ali and Figo can count on the support of sports campaign specialist Vero Communications, whose other clients include Uefa. The statements of the nominating associations, in many cases, also indicate that having a challenger in the race at all was more important than his or her identity. ´7KH ERDUG GLVFXVVHG WKH XSFRPLQJ Fifa presidency election and the welcome proliferation of candidates in the UDFH Âľ VDLG *UHJ '\NH FKDLUPDQ RI (QJODQG¡V )RRWEDOO $VVRFLDWLRQ ´:H agreed to formally nominate Prince Ali of the Jordanian FA but also noted the encouraging reform message being RIIHUHG E\ 0LFKDHO 9DQ 3UDDJ Âľ Jesper Moller, president of Denmark’s '%8 VDLG ´7KH DLP LV WR JHW DV ZLGH D Ă€HOG ZLWK VR PDQ\ GLIIHUHQW SURĂ€OHV DV SRVVLEOH My desire has always been to ensure that we get an actual election campaign and thus an open debate on Fifa’s development and the tasks that the international football is ahead LQ WKH FRPLQJ \HDUV Âľ Champagne senses that the campaign has been reduced to the single goal of

Bullit Marquez/AP/Press Association Images

removing the Fifa president above all else, WKDW ´LW ZLOO EH 0DQLFKHDQ DQWL %ODWWHULVP and that’s demagoguery of simplicism because it’s about accusing one person RI DOO WKH PLVWDNHVÂľ DQG LJQRULQJ WKH complicity of the confederations in Fifa’s reputational tailspin. ´1RQH RI WKH WKUHH KDV UHDOO\ SXW IRUZDUG D GHWDLOHG SURJUDPPH Âľ KH DGGV ´7KH\¡YH MXVW OLPLWHG WKHPVHOYHV WR pandering slogans. No details. So I think it’s the wrong start and the reality is that it’s absolutely likely, according to all that has been told and all the media, that Mr Blatter LV DEVROXWHO\ OLNHO\ WR ZLQ D Ă€ IWK PDQGDWH Âľ For Champagne, the race will largely be another rerun of a battle between European soccer and Blatter dating back to 1998, when he defeated the then Uefa president Lennart Johannson WR ZLQ D Ă€ UVW WHUP LQ RIĂ€ FH +H DUJXHV that the new challengers are issuing the VDPH ´SURJUDPPH RI 8HID WR WUDQVIRUP Fifa from a federation of FAs into a vague holding of the six continental FRQIHGHUDWLRQVÂľ 7KH LPSOLFDWLRQ LV WKDW Blatter won then, and will probably win now, by presenting himself as the global candidate in the face of what Champagne FDOOV ´D SDWURQLVLQJ (XURFHQWULF DWWLWXGHÂľ American political pundits often talk about the perceptual advantage the incumbent enjoys in the TV debates during presidential election campaigns. One of the more onerous tasks for the challenger is to ‘look presidential’; the SUHVLGHQW XVXDOO\ KDV QR VXFK GLIĂ€ FXOW\ given that he or she has already been doing the job for three and a half years. Despite an invitation from Sky and the BBC in the UK, and the consent of the other candidates, Blatter has shown little intention of engaging in a global televised debate. In truth, as entertaining and illuminating as it might prove, its use may be limited when only 209 votes are at stake. It is understood that the Blatter campaign will be run independently of Fifa, though he has not yet issued a manifesto. Nonetheless, in recent weeks he has had ample chance not just to look presidential but to dole out the kind of political favours that demand reciprocation. At the end of -DQXDU\ KH ZDV LQ $XVWUDOLD IRU WKH Ă€ QDO of the AFC Asian Cup, where he endured some pantomime booing from local fans and may have crossed paths with Prince Ali, but was nevertheless able to spend time

Blatter on a visit to a Fifa development project in a Manila township in the Philippines in November

with AFC president Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa and butter up his hosts ZLWK WKH SURFODPDWLRQ WKDW $XVWUDOLD ´FRXOG DQG VKRXOGÂľ KRVW D IXWXUH :RUOG &XS $ IHZ ZHHNV ODWHU KH ZDV LQ (TXDWRULDO *XLQHD IRU WKH Ă€ QDO RI WKH $IULFD &XS RI Nations. Luis Figo also made the trip but was not nearly as prominent as Blatter, who spent his time in the company of the country’s dictatorial leader President Obiang and Issa Hayatou, president of CAF. Hayatou himself has a past as a 8HID EDFNHG )LID SUHVLGHQWLDO FDQGLGDWH his defeat to Blatter in 2002 forms the dramatic apex of last year’s moribund )LID IXQGHG FLQHPDWLF KLVWRU\ 8QLWHG Passions, though his identity is barely made to seem relevant. Nowhere has the nature of Blatter’s LQĂ XHQFH EHHQ PRUH DSSDUHQW WKDQ LQ WKH SROLWLFDO TXLFNVDQG RI 4DWDU ZKHUH Fifa has been forcing through a publicly unpopular World Cup amidst a swirl of reports of corruption, workers’ rights abuses and a socially restrictive regime. %H\RQG DOO RI WKDW KDV EHHQ WKH TXHVWLRQ of the date of the 2022 tournament, with the northern hemisphere summer creating desert temperatures far in excess of suitable conditions. For all the protestations of the local organising committee, and the talk of URERW FORXGV DQG VRODU SRZHUHG FRROLQJ systems, a winter World Cup has been the likeliest outcome since the vote in December 2010 but Blatter has found a range of ways to turn the situation to his DGYDQWDJH ² KHOSHG DORQJ E\ WKH ZHOO

supported belief that he did not vote for 4DWDU¡V ELG LQ WKH Ă€ UVW SODFH Changes to the calendar will be expensive – not that Fifa will be footing WKH ELOO ² EXW %ODWWHU DQG KLV Ă€ [HU )LID JHQHUDO VHFUHWDU\ -pU{PH 9DOFNH KDYH kept some aces off the table ahead of the crucial hands. Chief among these was a deal to neutralise the opposition of TV paymasters in the US, perturbed by the prospect of a World Cup during the National Football League season. Current broadcast partners Fox and Telemundo were granted an extension to their deals without tender – much to the chagrin of rival networks – taking them past 2022 and on to a 2026 tournament which may well be held in their home territory. Even as SportsPro was setting its pages IRU WKH SULQWHUV %ODWWHU ZDV Ă€ QGLQJ ways of nudging the political frame and WUDQVIRUPLQJ WKH SLFWXUH 7KH Ă€ QDO RI D November/December competition, he insisted, could take place no later than 18th December 2022. The result is that he has saved Christmas for the festive schedule of the Premier League and its chief executive, Richard Scudamore, who made plain his irritation at travelling to Qatar for a discussion to be presented with a fait accompli. This is the kind of strategic dexterity which is at odds with Blatter’s bumbling public image. Beyond it is a political hinterland which has left him with an enviable power base. ´)LUVW ZH KDYH WR FRPH EDFN WR ¡ where the Brazilian [JoĂŁo] Havelange SportsPro Magazine | 49

COVER STORY | SOCCER

GHIHDWHG (QJODQG¡V 6WDQOH\ 5RXV Âľ H[SODLQV &KDPSDJQH ´$V \RX NQRZ 6WDQOH\ 5RXV as president of Fifa, was conniving with the apartheid regime of South Africa, he had not realised that the world had changed; that suddenly the African federations had become members of Fifa; WKDW WKH %UD]LOLDQ WHDP RI PL[HG ZLWK all the colours of the Brazilian population – there was a change. And if you look at what happened, what did Mr Havelange promise? He promised development programmes and expanding Fifa competitions, creating youth competitions. ´:KHQ 0U +DYHODQJH DUULYHG )LID had eight employees, no money, and one competition. And of course, at that time, it was not possible to develop that vision. And the person who did it was Mr Blatter, ZKR DUULYHG LQ ¡ +H¡V WKH RQH ZKR VLJQHG WKH Ă€UVW FRPPHUFLDO FRQWUDFWV ² Adidas and Coke – which enabled Fifa for WKH Ă€UVW WLPH WR KDYH PRQH\ DQG WR VWDUW development programmes. The youth FRPSHWLWLRQ ZDV LQ WKH Ă€UVW RQH WRRN LQ SODFH ZLWK XQGHU V LQ 7XQLVLD ´$QG VRPH SHRSOH DV , VDLG ZKR OLYH LQ countries where the grass where their kids play football is green, cannot understand what it represents, not only for England or Switzerland but for Moldova, for Lesotho, for Bolivia, for Guatemala. And that is Mr Blatter’s achievement. He did that. Today, Fifa has money. Today, Fifa invests 25 per cent of its budget in GHYHORSPHQW SURJUDPPHV Âľ Champagne was also at Fifa in the late 1990s and early 2000s, a period where soccer’s expansion made possible LWV Ă€UVW :RUOG &XSV LQ $VLD DQG $IULFD ´:KR IRXJKW IRU WKDW"Âľ DVNV &KDPSDJQH ´0U %ODWWHU YHUVXV WKH HJRLVP RI WKH (XURSHDQV Âľ Champagne’s point is that Blatter responded to the outcome of the race for the 2006 tournament, which ended for victory for Germany ahead of South $IULFD E\ EULHĂ \ LQVWLWXWLQJ FRQWLQHQWDO rotation to ensure an African win. ´<RX WKLQN SHRSOH FDQ IRUJHW ZKDW KH GLG"Âľ KH DVNV 2I FRXUVH WKLV LV D VLPSOLĂ€HG YLHZ RI Blatter’s rise – eliding the contributions of others beyond the governing body as well as the many failures of Fifa in that time – but as a political folk story it is powerful stuff. The upshot is that while the three contenders are presenting themselves in 50 | www.sportspromedia.com

JĂŠrĂ´me Champagne believes he was squeezed out of the race by opposing forces at Uefa and Fifa

WKH PHGLD DV DQWL %ODWWHU WKH\ DUH RIIHULQJ national associations the assurance that theirs will remain a caring, sharing Fifa when it comes to development funds. Prince Ali, whose work in founding the Asian Football Development Programme underlines his credentials in this department, has trailed SODQV WR ÂśVLJQLĂ€FDQWO\ LQFUHDVH Ă€QDQFLDO support for National Associations from the Global Solidarity programme’. Figo has gone further, pledging US$2.5 billion, or around 50 per cent of Fifa’s revenues, to member associations in solidarity funding over the next four years. 86 ELOOLRQ RI WKLV ² 86 PLOOLRQ SHU member per year – would be earmarked for spending directly at the grassroots level, with a further US$300 million targeted at those ‘in the highest need’. Effectively, this would mean an extra US$2 million per year each for 150 Fifa members. The Portuguese would like to see schools programmes established by every association. Much of this would be funded by a radical rethink of Fifa’s savings policy, with US$1 billion emptied out of its cash reserves and only US$500 million – rather WKDQ WKH FXUUHQW Ă€JXUH RI DURXQG 86 billion – held back in case of an emergency such as the cancellation of a Fifa World &XS ´7KLV PRQH\ LV QRW )LID PRQH\ Âľ VDLG )LJR DW KLV PDQLIHVWR ODXQFK ´,W LV WKH money of Fifa member associations and it VKRXOG EH VSHQW RQ IRRWEDOO Âľ The other carrot proffered by the candidates has been a restructuring of the World Cup to give greater opportunities for more members to take part. Prince Ali – whose home country, Jordan, lost

DQ LQWHUFRQWLQHQWDO SOD\ RII ZLWK 8UXJXD\ LQ TXDOLĂ€FDWLRQ IRU WKH :RUOG &XS ² has called for ‘a proper review of the Fifa World Cup format and the places available to the respective Confederations’. Figo’s approach is different. He has outlined three proposals for the future of the competition to be presented to the Fifa Congress. One would be the retention of the current format. The second – also supported by van Praag – ZRXOG EH D WHDP WRXUQDPHQW SOD\HG in one country with teams divided into HLJKW JURXSV RI Ă€YH LQ WKH Ă€UVW URXQG 7KH Ă€QDO SLWFK LV D GUDPDWLF UHYDPS D WHDP FRPSHWLWLRQ ZLWK WZR WHDP Ă€UVW URXQG SKDVHV SOD\HG RQ WZR GLIIHUHQW FRQWLQHQWV IROORZHG E\ D NQRFN RXW SKDVH LQ RQH RWKHU FRXQWU\ ´%RWK WKHVH options are feasible with an extra three to IRXU GD\V RI WRXUQDPHQW SOD\ Âľ VDLG )LJR ´7KDW¡V WUXO\ PDG Âľ VD\V &KDPSDJQH RI attempts to reconceptualise the world’s ELJJHVW VLQJOH VSRUW HYHQW ´)LUVW WKH World Cup is already very complicated and expensive to organise. Two, the format with 32 teams is absolutely, in sports terms, perfect. Last but not least, we have to think about the clubs and the players who already have a saturated FDOHQGDU ² DQG , DP D FOXE Ă€UVW SHUVRQ ´%XW ZKDW LV FOHDU LV WKDW WRGD\ ZH KDYH two footballs – we have club football and we have national team football. And when people are getting more and more frustrated by the elitism of club IRRWEDOO WKH\ ZRXOG OLNH WR TXHVWLRQ WKDW but people think, oh, we cannot change anything about club football.

COVER STORY | SOCCER

Much of Blatter’s popularity with some associations stems from his work under João Havelange

“What do we do, as a consequence, to appease the Fifa majority in congress? We tinker with the format of the national team competitions. And basically, what is the subliminal message of that proposal? Or expanding the Euro to 24 teams, to the extent that now nearly no country can organise it on its own? ‘Look, guys, you have to accept that club football is dominated by Uefa’s tiny, wealthy minority elite of clubs. But we cannot touch it.’” For Champagne, the biggest issue in the election is the one that is not being discussed by any party. While he believes that the globalisation of soccer “has been extremely good for the game”, he is deeply concerned by the growing wealth gap in the sport. “The 20 wealthiest clubs have a cumulative turnover of €6.6 billion, while around the world we have more than 100 federations surviving – I mean surviving, considering the number of tickets, the development programmes and all of those things – with less than €2 million per year,” he says. “We cannot continue like that. OK, there is development in African football and South American football from 20 years ago but the gap with Europe has increased, depleting these leagues.” Champagne is sure that inequality – as an issue which has animated the economist Thomas Piketty, Pope Francis, the OECD and many in between – will be something that the soccer community will soon have to confront. Nonetheless, it looks likely to be a lesser matter in the upcoming campaign. Of greater immediate interest are ethics and transparency. None of the candidates would have suggested anything other than reform to Fifa’s governance after 52 | www.sportspromedia.com

a nightmarish few years but each has a slightly different approach. Prince Ali has often come out in favour of greater openness at Fifa, publicly calling for the full publication of Michael Garcia’s report into the bidding race for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. Among his suggestions are a greater number of national association and confederation heads, as well as more players, referees and coaches, in key decision-making bodies. He has also proposed a more constructive relationship with the media and external NGOs. Figo, in his manifesto, has laid out plans to merge Fifa’s ethics and disciplinary committees. He has also proposed a 12-year limit for Fifa presidencies. Term limits are a matter on which all three challengers are agreed, with van Praag insisting he will only serve for a single four-year term if elected to carry out his plans to “normalise” the world body. At his February campaign launch at a London hotel, Prince Ali dropped the most telling sound bite of the campaign so far when he spoke of the “culture of intimidation” at the top of soccer administration. However, even without the united support of his own confederation ² VHQLRU ÀJXUHV DW WKH $)& DUH EHOLHYHG WR IDYRXU %ODWWHU ² KH LV FRQÀGHQW WKDW WKHUH are national association votes to be won everywhere. His view is supported by the well-travelled Indian soccer journalist and editor Novy Kapadia. “It looks increasingly likely that the AFC vote will split,” Kapadia told ESPN at the end of February. “Not all the members are convinced by Blatter and Prince Ali is well connected in the region. The Confederation of African Football is

also behind Blatter, but the Prince will be optimistic of getting votes here, particularly north Africa where he is very popular.” Concacaf, the North and Central American confederation, might also be set to fall behind Prince Ali. He could at least be backed by its president, Jeffrey Webb, who joined the Fifa ExCo in the same modernising wave in 2011. South America’s Conmebol and its 13 votes could also be up for grabs, though the Oceania Football Confederation is in Blatter’s corner. Every confederation will have met for congress between the start of the campaign and the Fifa vote. Figo and, in particular, van Praag have natural enclaves of support among Europe’s 54 national associations. A popular theory is that by the time of May’s vote two of the candidates will have dropped out at Uefa’s behest, leaving the most popular to absorb their votes. The three men are set to meet along the campaign trail but, for now, the party line stresses independence. “Well, I don’t really know if it could EHQHÀW WKH WKUHH RWKHU FDQGLGDWHV LI LW·V going to be just one, whether that would be more strong or not,” said Figo when asked of possible collusion further down the line. “My idea right now is to run to the end, to see as many people as possible among the presidents of the associations and to try to convince them with my ideas and my manifesto, and what is good for the governance and the democracy of Fifa. But I don’t know what’s going to happen in the next months; what is the idea of the other candidates. But I can assure you that my idea is to run until the HQG DQG ÀJKW IRU WKH JRRG RI IRRWEDOO µ 105 votes will be needed for any one of the four candidates to assume the Fifa presidency on 29th May. The winner will be heading up the biggest organisation for any one sport in the world at a time of potential turmoil, with internal outrages to amend and a considerable geopolitical threat at hand in the host nation of the next World Cup, Russia. There is plenty at stake but, for one observer at least, too much has already been lost. “This campaign will not be about football or the economic or sporting balance of football and the game,” says Champagne. “It will be pure politicking. And it’s sad.”

Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.