By Andrew Warshaw, chief correspondent
February 19 – Promising to prioritise grass-roots football and a fairer distribution of funds as well as increase the number of World Cup finalists, Portuguese icon Luis Figo today became the first candidate for FIFA president to launch an official manifesto as distinct from simply mission statements.
Choosing London rather than his native Portugal in order to gain maximum media exposure, Figo, considered the least likely of the four contenders when he threw his hat into the ring just before the deadline for nominations, cut an impressive figure as he laid out his blueprint for how the game would benefit under his leadership.
Whilst Prince ali bin al-Hussein and Michael van Praag, the other two rivals to Sepp Blatter, have both held campaign launches calling for greater transparency, Figo was the first to publish an actual detailed manifesto, running to 20 pages.
At the core of it is that 50% of FIFA’s revenues – in other words $2.5 billion – should be distributed directly to the national associations over a four-year period specifically to help fund grassroots development. In another cash-back proposal, Figo also wants £1 billion of FIFA’s £1.5 billion reserves to be distributed back to the federations.
“After many conversations with football leaders, one of the consistent themes fed back to me is (that) the way FIFA distributes its revenues to its member associations is very inefficient and ineffective – especially for developing football across all associations,” Figo told a press conference at Wembley stadium. “The impact of my proposals would mean between $8 million and $10 million being distrubuted to each member association across a four-year period.”
Figo says he wants to create a specific FIFA Football Council to monitor the activities of the president and his executive committee “to ensure the highest credibility and professionalism.”
“I’m not the kind of man that sits and refuses to act,” said Figo who may have little administrative experience after a stellar playing career but has effectively stolen a march on his rivals with his glossy English-language manifesto. “This will not be a quick fix: it requires fundamental changes.”
Among other eye-catching ideas are three different proposals for the World Cup: retaining 32 teams, going up to 40 or a revolutionary concept of expanding to 48. The last of these would be based on two 24-team tournaments played on two continents at the same time followed by a final knockout stage.
“I believe we should consider proposals to expand the competition to a 40 or even 48 team World Cup,” Figo said. “Both these options are feasible with an extra three to four days of tournament play.”
In what looks like a deliberate ploy to pick up global support ahead of the May 29 election, Figo, whose candidacy was endorsed solely by European federations, made it clear that any additional World Cup teams would come from outside UEFA.
Also included in his manifesto is a recommendation to revisit term limits for the FIFA president, a reform idea kicked out last year by the FIFA Congress. Figo wants a maximum of three terms, or 12 years. Blatter has so far served 17 years and is going for a fifth term.
The introduction of sin bins for players guilty of “unsporting behaviour towards referees” and a commitment to end the ‘triple punishment’ of penalty, red card and suspension for any player committing a professional foul in the box are also in the manifesto.
One question Figo might have struggled with was why the launch had been switched to Wembley at 24 hours’ notice from Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge ground on the other side of the capital.
“Logistics” was the official reason given to Insideworldfootball though there was considerable speculation that the real reason was because of all the negative publicity cast in Chelsea’s direction following the highly publicised racism incident involving a group of fans in Paris earlier in this week. Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho may be a big fan of his compatriot but Wembley was clearly a safer bet on Figo’s big day.
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