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Time for FIFA fat cats to goIt is time for the fat cats at the summit of world football’s governing body FIFA, the so-called executive committee, to retire with good grace and head off into the sporting sunset, leaving the organisation of Soccer World Cups to the different continents or to UEFA.
This is the essence of an argument by the famous soccer journalist Keir Radnedge in the Independent on Sunday after a week of more damning claims that are compromising the values of soccer and of its controversial international governing body.
During the week, Sepp Blatter secured a fourth term as FIFA president at the 61st FIFA Congress in Zurich. The only other candidate, Mohammed bin Hammam, withdrew from the race on 28 May.
Bin Hammam had supported Blatter's 1998 and 2002 presidential campaigns but admitted that he had fallen out with Blatter over issues within the FIFA Executive Committee.
The FIFA ethics committee that investigated bribery claims against Bin Hammam and Jack Warner announced that Blatter will not face an investigation into claims that he knew of the bribery and did nothing about it due to a lack of evidence.
Blatter and his secretary general Jerome Valcke, denied that there was a crisis in FIFA. Earlier, Valcke admitted sending an email suggesting Qatar had “bought” the 2022 World Cup.
And, a picture emerged of bundles of cash allegedly used as a “bung” to football officials, according to The Telegraph (30 May, 2011).
But Blatter remained defiant, saying: “Crisis? What crisis?”
Valcke’s message to suspended vice-president Jack Warner suggests the Qatari bid team used its vast wealth to secure the world’s biggest sports tournament.
Referring to Qatari delegate Bin Hammam’s bid for the presidency, he writes: “...he thought you can buy FIFA as they bought the World Cup.”
But Valcke desperately tried to backtrack later, insisting that only certain parts of the “private” message had been released. He denied implying there was any bribery or underhand tactics connected with the bid.
In a statement he said: “I’d like to clarify that I may use in an email a ‘lighter’ way of expression… a much less formal tone.”
He added: “When I refer to the 2022 FIFA World Cup, what I wanted to say is that the winning bid used their financial strength to lobby for support.”
The Qatari bid team furiously denied any wrongdoing and say they are taking legal advice.
Bin Hammam, who had hoped to take over as FIFA-president, was suspended from all football-related activity along with Warner. The FIFA ethics committee has said it will launch a “full inquiry” into bribery allegations against them. Both have issued strenuous denials.
Bin Hammam and Warner are accused of offering cash bungs of 24,000 pounds to seal votes for Bin Hammam’s bid for the presidency. For many officials in the Caribbean – Jack Warner’s power base -- it would be the equivalent of several years’ salary.
During last week, a picture emerged of four bundles of money allegedly offered to a Caribbean football official. The cash was delivered in a brown envelope with the name of the Bahamas FA on it, according to the Daily Mirror.
The money was allegedly handed over on May 10 at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Trinidad, where members of the Caribbean Football Union had been invited to a special meeting to listen to Bin Hammam present his manifesto.
Afterwards the 25 associations, whose flights and hotel costs for two officials each were being covered by Bin Hammam, were asked to attend a conference room to pick up “a gift”, which turned out to be the envelope stuffed with cash.
Bin Hammam immediately withdrew his candidacy, saying he did not want to drag the FIFA name through “the mud”. And Warner hit back by making the incendiary email about the Qatar bid public.
FIFA has been dogged by corruption allegations since last year’s vote to stage the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. (Source: Daily Mirror, 31 May 2011)
Blatter said there were no issues with the process of awarding the tournaments to Russia and Qatar respectively.
He also insisted there was no case to answer against four FIFA executive committee members accused of corruption during a British parliamentary hearing earlier this month. FIFA received a report from the English FA over the allegations against Ricardo Teixeira, Nicolas Leoz, Jack Warner and Worawi Makudi.
But Blatter said: “We can confirm there are no elements in this report which would even warrant any proceedings.”
At several points in a shambolic press conference during the week, Blatter refused to answer questions about allegations of bungs and bribery.
Finally he rushed out of the room after angrily telling journalists he had answered enough questions and they should learn some “respect”.
Blatter has managed to cling on to his presidency despite the growing furore over corruption allegations.
Warner has claimed Blatter gave laptops to officials from the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football, according to the Daily Mirror.
He also alleged that Blatter paid 607,450 pounds to the Confederation without the permission of the FIFA finance committee. But the ethics committee decided no probe was needed into claims that he knew about the alleged payments.
The FIFA crisis deepened during last week as two major sponsors – Coca-Cola and Adidas – expressed concern over the allegations and called for the bickering to stop.
Labour MP Tom Watson, a member of the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport committee, has called on FIFA to pay back the 15 million pounds England spent on its failed World Cup bid which was backed by Prince William and David Beckham.
He said: “The credibility of this organisation is shot to pieces. Fans are in despair. The decisions made by FIFA can’t be trusted. We should get a refund on our money.” (Source: Daily Mirror, 31 May 2011)
Radnedge argues in The Independent that when FIFA was founded in Paris in 1904 it claimed for itself the right to organise football's world championship.
Some 26 years later it managed to fulfill its raison d'être and, in the succeeding 81 years, it has elevated the World Cup to an organisational, administrative, social and, above all, commercially monopolistic peak.
Nothing of further significance can be achieved.
The current complement of 32 finalists is the maximum possible, its four-yearly cycle is a perfect fit in the international event calendar and South Africa 2010 was the ultimate proof that – given enough money, resources and expert manpower – the tournament can be staged anywhere in the world.
Thus, not only has the ultimate World Cup template been established (whether in South Africa or for Russia and, yes, even for Qatar) but it can be sliced and diced for whichever country wants to stage the assorted supporting cast of youth, women's, beach, indoor and computer-game world championships.
FIFA has completed its task of perfecting the methodology of organisation and profit-sharing. Now the various continents can take over, turn and turn-about.
All they need is to employ a consortium of marketing agencies to auction off each event's commercial and broadcasting rights to the highest bidders.
After all, the concept of rotating football's prize event between the continents has been tried and tested.
UEFA, short on soul but long on efficiency, would oversee the organisation of a World Cup not only more economically but more profitably than FIFA, says Radnedge.
Even the details of the game of association football have been sorted. FIFA established the ideal standards for artificial pitches, the quality of the ball, players' health, and a control on sponsor logos to prevent teams looking like 11-man sandwich boards.
FIFA has done its job in establishing the universality of the game and creating and raising the World Cup from fragile infant to self-sufficient adult. All that is left is for FIFA is to retire with good grace and head off into the sporting sunset, added Radnedge.
There is good reason to support Radnedge on the need for the FIFA executive to pack their bags. The persistent rumours of corruption and of sabotaging the image of the beautiful game would die down if the game gets rid of Blatter and the executive depart for good.
