By Andrew Warshaw
February 28 – Sepp Blatter faces one of the most politically sensitive weeks of his FIFA Presidency when he tries to keep all his members happy over the controversial issue of 2014 World Cup berths.
Blatter is bidding for a fourth term of office at presidential elections on June 1 and will need all his canny persuasive skills over the next few days to try and garner as much support as possible, just in case an opponent with any credibility emerges from the FIFA ranks within the next month to take him on.
Europe has long enjoyed the bulk of World Cup allocations - 13 at last summer’s tournament in South Africa.
But South America is hoping for an extra spot as hosts in three years’ time,CONCACAF boss Jack Warner insists his Confederation deserves a fourth automatic berth and Asia won’t settle for anything less than the four-and-a-half it had last year.
Blatter’s task will be to somehow pacify all those jockeying for position but he will inevitably have to disappoint someone, with only 31 slots available if you exclude the hosts who qualify automatically.
Africa, who had six teams last time, seem the most vulnerable of all the Confederations.
Only one of its finalists, Ghana, managed to get out of the group stage last summer despite so many expectations.
Then there was the cash-for-votes bribery scandal over the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding process in which several of its most prominent officials were implicated.
Conversely, four of South America’s five teams in South Africa reached the last eight and with Brazil hosting 2014, they would appear to have a strong case for grabbing one of Africa’s spots.
Any other concessions would be a surprise. Asia will not be prepared to give any ground while Oceania - who traditionally play-off with an Asian team for the final place - can point to the fact that New Zealand made history by going home unbeaten.
With Asian soccer boss Mohammed bin Hammam still considering whether to challenge Blatter for the Presidency, it makes for some intriguing tit-for-tat bargaining in the corridors of power.
And it becomes all the more intriguing when you listen to Warner’s not altogether convincing case for his own Confederation - from which Mexico and the USA routinely qualify - to be granted additional representation.
We believe that CONCACAF deserves another full place at the World Cup finals due to the performances of our teams on the field and the actions of our confederation off it,” says Warner, whose Confederation were fuming at losing out to Qatar to host the 2022 World Cup.
Whether he gets his way remains to be seen, particularly given recent reports of his alleged role in a World Cup ticketing scandal.
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