The World Cup is done and dusted. The revolution did not happen, football was televised. Rio remained unaffected by what the nay sayers had predicted to become a nightmare for FIFA. The social unrest prior to the World Cup proved to be against an apparently incompetent and corrupt government and not the governing body of world football. The schools and hospitals remain unbuilt. The roadways and other ways remain unfinished eye-sores, as they were before the Cup, and Brazil is about to vote for a new President; and somehow one feels that Rousseff doesn’t hold the strongest cards.
For FIFA it was a World Cup that promised civil war (as some had so intently wished for) and turned out to be a celebration of anything but. Brazil’s dismal performance shook the nation, while Germany romped out the deserved winner and Messi, for some inexplicable reason, was named best player.
Next page then. Election time.
By the end of January 2015, candidates for the post of FIFA President (to be elected by 209 country delegates rather than the English media – what unfairness!) will have to declare their position, supported by at least five national associations who officially endorse their candidacy.
It seems pretty clear that Michel Platini won’t be one of them (also, he has to declare his candidacy for UEFA’s presidential run by the end of December 2014, which makes a candidacy for FIFA president that more unlikely). On the other hand, self-styled reformer and possibly the most intelligent human being in the world, Jerôme Champagne, will no doubt have a go at it, although why? He said in London a while back that he doesn’t have a chance of winning against the incumbent. So why is he running, considering that Blatter is as well?
Some folks at UEFA (and beyond), believe that there is a deal between Blatter and Champagne. They fear that Blatter would step down, quickly, and pass on the baton to his erstwhile employee. Whom he fired (egged on by Africa and Asia, of course, at the time). Those who believe that, either don’t know Blatter or are otherwise deluded because they don’t know the rules: unlike in a Central Asian-style presidential system, where the President can easily pass on the helm to his son or another relative, FIFA has rules, statutes and regulations. Funny that, isn’t it? And those rules etc. would a) stipulate that in the event of the President stepping down (willingly or unwillingly) during his term, the most senior Vice President of FIFA would take over immediately until the next Congress were to elect a new President. So, the Champagne-Blatter conspiracy is a non-starter, simply because it is not feasible by FIFA Statutes.
Another unasked question to date is who finances Mr Champagne’s efforts? The man travels around the world, seriously campaigning, spending serious amounts of money and lobbying equally seriously for his own future as FIFA president. But where does the money come from, Mr Champagne?
It is one thing to claim superiority in terms of transparency and governance, and not to mention “reform” (… After a decade by Blatter’s side, having written innumerable of his key speeches?) – it seems quite another to live by the standards one claims to be setting. Tell us, Mr Champagne, who pays for your campaign, how much and, above all, why?
It now appears that he will be allowed into the election. Observers had opined earlier that Champagne would not qualify, for the simply reason that he had not spent the last five or so years “full time in football as an official”. A respective FIFA task force has been burdened with this and other election related matters and will soon be delivering an official opinion, one hears.
That would still leave Blatter as a nailed on candidate. Alone. Because Champagne can’t win against Blatter, by his own admission (which raises a very dark suspicion, doesn’t it?. Champagne always wanted to be in Jerôme Valcke’s shoes, but instead of being appointed GenSec, he was fired. Not nice – but perhaps running for President, then dropping out of the race at a given moment is what will allow him to return to FIFA? Everything is possible, isn’t it?).
And if Blatter were to stand alone – again – the Dykes and Linekers of this world would possibly lose the plot, and other righteous fighters and thought leaders with them. We, for one, would certainly also hate to sit here commentating on a one-man show: FIFA deserves a fight for the throne, but who is willing to have a run at it?
Enter madness.
A shaken and stirred UEFA won’t be handing the reigns to their pet foe Blatter without a fight, one hears. If Platini won’t run, they’ll put up another man. But who is the best possible candidate? Van Praag? Gill? Niersbach? Maybe even Lineker? For once, the latter would have to walk the walk instead of just talking the play ground talk. What joy.
And as a logical consequence of all this, a remarkable rumour is making the rounds, well documented though as it is: somebody seems to have had the brilliant idea to ask an American to run against Blatter. Probably because of the US’s current global popularity, certainly within the vast majority of the developing world that constitutes the FIFA Congress…
Apparently, US Soccer’s Sunil Gulati is picking up the baton and is considering the “opportunity”. His recent moves – like, in Brazil, where he embraced certain folk as if they were long lost family – tend to give credence to the tale, as does Australian Moya Dodd’s very active interest in all matters presidential while moving swiftly around Canada and asking some interesting questions about the FIFA Legacy Fund in Brazil (why?). Because the tale goes that Dodd and, check this, Prince Ali of Jordan, are Gulati’s hottest endorsers, supporters, everything.
How’s that for a smart move? Sunil for President! Yes! No boring latter-day-reformer such as Champagne, no Blatter, not again, but a clean (not native) Indian-American! Now that would be an intriguing move!
After losing the bid for 2022, a lot of heads turned very hot in the US of A. To lose was one thing but to lose against their Arab ally, was hard to take. Well-meaning offers have since been made with increasing fervor and regularity. The USA are “willing and able to host the ’22 World Cup, should anything go wrong with the Qatar hosting rights” (hint, hint). The “USA could host the Cup with literally no notice”, so good and powerful is their land and infrastructure. The USA who are always there to help others (e.g. the Syrian opposition who now fight them, restyled as ISIS and again as the Islamic State, with the very weapons they were given only months ago to fight Assad; or the staunchly democratic Ukrainian leadership, although unelected but definitely democratic..), they can do this too, no doubt.
What a “mésalliance” though, one would have to consider: Dodd, Prince Ali and Gulati? The mind boggles and some Caribbean folk may well be celebrating already – what an opportunity.
We hope that there will be a candidate who goes for the presidency and delivers a proper fight to Blatter’s doorstep. We actually hope that there will be more than one candidate. Maybe three, four or even more, so as to make the process a real contest and to demonstrate that there is a democracy in world football.
But with candidates like Champagne, maybe a Gulati too, we fear that Blatter will have an easy victory, yet again. It would be lovely to witness a fight, wouldn’t it?