By Paul Nicholson
October 5 – FIFA’s involvement in Africa’s football politics and the election of its officials has again caused resentment on the continent with the world governing body this time stepping into the Côte d’Ivoire presidential election furore surrounding Didier Drogba.
Drogba, a favourite of FIFA president Gianni Infantino and an active advocate of peace on the African continent, failed to meet the nomination criteria for the Ivorian FA (FIF) presidency.
While his Ivorian playing career for the country he chose to represent cannot be questioned – 65 goals in 105 matches – deep doubts exist over his credentials to run the country’s FA.
To be able stand for election Drogba needed endorsements from at least three of Côte d’Ivoire’s 14 division clubs, two from lower divisions, as well as backing from coaches, doctors, current and former players and referees in order to be eligible to run for the presidency.
Having announced his intention to run for the presidency a year ago, he formally submitted his application to run for the presidency in August. However, he was denied by the electoral commission on the basis that two of his signatories of support were not empowered to represent their organisations that had already endorsed the federation’s current vice-president Sory Diabaté.
With noteworthy alacrity, no sooner had Drogba been ruled out of running in the election, FIFA stepped in, via a letter from general secretary Fatma Samoura, citing concerns that the electoral process may not be fair. FIFA demanded that the electoral process be stopped and that FIF should send all the documentation of the electoral process for examination. Drogba had written to FIFA claiming the process was rigged.
Since the end of September the Fifa-Caf-Ufoa B commission has been in action interviewing members. The smart money would be on FIFA getting its way and Drogba being allowed into the election race. Locally, and across Africa, there is a growing fury and suspicion that FIFA is imposing its will on the election.
The concern amongst football stakeholders in Cote d’Ivoire, and the reason support has not flocked to Drogba, is that his football career has only embraced the Ivory Coast at his own international playing level.
Critics say that he has shown zero interest in local football, has never participated in it or shown any inclination to do so, and since his retirement in 2014 has not attended a single national team game. Indeed, he even attended the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt but failed to watch a Cote d’Ivoire game.
Ultimately he is viewed as a FIFA plant in their battle to keep control of an iron grip on a football confederation that is waivering in its previously unanimous support of Infantino, and which has seen pretty much every metric of positive development dissipate under CAF president Ahmad and FIFA’s management (Samoura had been parachuted in for what become a disastrous six months of CAF management in 2019).
The criticisms are that Drogba would be a president for himself and the FIFA executive, rather than for Ivorian football and the development of the national game.
Drogba’s strength is that he has the public support of Ivorian football fans who remember his legendary playing career. He is also remembered for a post-match plea in 2005 for an end to civil war in the country after Cote d’Ivoire won qualification for the 2006 World Cup. That plea, made with his teammates around him, is believed to have contributed to a ceasefire.
He has now sparked a different kind of civil war and has called in the big guns of FIFA to fight his battle.
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