By Andrew Warshaw in Mauritius
May 30 – Despite all expectations to the contrary, Britain will after all maintain its position at the top table of FIFA after striking a deal with other European member federations.
The abolition of the automatic British vice-presidency, established in 1946 but for years a source of irritation among five of FIFA’s six confederations because it is a nominated rather than elected position, is on the agenda at FIFA’s Congress in Mauritius.
The view was that removing the so-called British seat from the statutes would make Fifa more democratic by turning it into a UEFA-controlled position instead.
But Alex Horne, general secretary of the English FA, revealed today that Britain will after all retain its power base, albeit in a different guise, when the present incumbent Jim Boyce of Northern Ireland, steps down in 2015.
Horne disclosed that the British federations (England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales) will all be able to put forward candidates for an elected place on the FIFA executive committee as one of the three European vice-presidents of FIFA.
“It has the backing of all the UEFA members,” said Horne. “We proposed to our colleagues in the rest of Europe that one of the vice-presidents should come from Britain and they were all happy with that and agreed that one of the three UEFA vice-presidents should permanently be British.
“The good thing for us is that it moves the four British associations closer to Europe and does not leave us isolated as such on the FIFA executive. It’s a win-win situation.
“Unlike before when the British vice-president was decided by the four associations, in future the four candidates will be presented to UEFA and all 54 UEFA countries will vote to decide who is elected.
“It will be in the statutes on Friday and will take effect from 2015 and was agreed by acclamation by all the other European associations when we met at UEFA headquarters in January. We have done very well to retain one seat for one of the British associations on the executive committee.”
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