By Andrew Warshaw in Zurich
February 25 – Hopes of FIFA’s much-trumpeted reform measures being approved at tomorrow’s electoral congress have suffered their first potentially serious hitch. Just as Cameroon’s acting FIFA president Issa Hayatou passionately urged the six confederations to rubber-stamp the far-reaching proposals in order to save the organisation’s reputation, so the head of one of his own African federations threatened to throw a major spanner in the works.
Musa Bility, the Liberian federation chief who was barred from being a presidential candidate because he failed integrity tests, told Insideworldfootball he was “seriously considering” calling for the reform package to be discussed only once a new president to succeed the outgoing Sepp Blatter was in place – the reverse of the current agenda items. Approving the reforms first, he says, would weaken the authority of whoever is elected.
Bility, who is backing Prince Ali bin al-Hussein in defiance of the call from Africa’s top brass to support Sheikh Salman, said: “My federation will make a request to speak on the issue. Is it proper to elect a president after the reforms are implemented? No it isn’t, it’s crazy.”
Bility’s intervention, if it happens, could have significant repercussions since Africa is the largest voting bloc, with 54 members.
It can also be revealed that as the five candidates for president conducted a final series of flesh-pressing “vote for me” visits to FIFA’s regional eve-of-vote congresses, they were blocked from addressing African delegates.
Unlike CONCACAF and UEFA, the Confederation of African Football’s executive committee voted Wednesday night not to allow the contenders into their closed-door session, with the media also refused entry.
CAF leaders denied accusations that they were being undemocratic and were concerned their members could be cajoled into voting for anyone other than Shaikh Salman. “This simply isn’t true,” said CAF vice-president Almamy Camara. “Maybe the other confederations hadn’t heard from the candidates before as often as we had. There was simply no need to hear from them again. We made the same rule for everyone.”
Asked why the AFC executive committee had mandated Africa’s 54 members to vote for Salman rather than allow them to make their own choices, he replied: “They can vote as they choose because it’s a secret ballot. But we edorsed Shaikh Salman because Africa and Asia have many similarities and come from the same background.”
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