THE all-powerful 22 members of FIFA’s Executive Committee, true to the football world governing body’s determination not to allow any circumstance get in the way of their announcement of the host countries of the 2018 and 2022 editions of the World Cup Finals, recently announced to the anxious football faithful all over the world, that Russia and Qatar had won the hosting rights of the two World Cups respectively.
Switzerland’s Sepp Blatter, president of FIFA on the eagerly-awaited day in Zurich, announced the verdict of the 22- wise men (formerly 24) and since then, there have been loud protests, accusations of foul play and betrayal of trust targeted at FIFA from different parts of the world (of course, excluding rights winners Russia and Qatar), most especially England, who are generally regarded as the most high -profile losers in the bidding race.
The English, who invented the game of football in the 19th century and previously hosted and won the World Cup in 1966, have felt poorly treated, given the facts on the table that their bid had been rated of the topmost quality on footballing technical requirements, including already-existing modern stadia and practice pitches some of which will host the 2012 Olympic Games in London. England also submitted equally convincing presentation on economic and social development grounds, among the most crucial considerations.
After many years of putting together what most observes felt convinced was a truly formidable bid, complete with governmental assurances of support as the presence in Zurich of Prime Minister David Cameron, megastar David Beckham, and the royal family glaringly indicated, added to gentleman’s promises from FIFA Exco members to vote for England, many reckoned that the English have a right to feel unhappy about their woeful failure at the end of the day. Of course, the English must have realised also that there were other shortlisted countries in the bidding race, any of which could be chosen as bid winners.
But it was an incontestable fact that the English bid suffered the harshest scrutiny, if not outright vengeance from the all-powerful FIFA, whose activities, laden with corruption allegations had been exposed, perhaps unwittingly, by the London Sunday Times investigation coupled with a BBC TV panorama programme only a few days before the announcement of the World Cup bid winners was made.
Although FIFA agreed with its Ethics Committee’s findings and subsequent punishment of the implicated “devils in FIFA” (Blatter’s words), the FIFA president and General Secretary, in separate interviews, still did not hide their annoyance at the manner of the British journalists’ published investigations, and the massive embarrassment it caused the authoritarian world governing body, which often times exercises more powers than sovereign nations.
As if to lend weight to suspicions that the negative newspaper and BBC reports might have been responsible for the abysmal showing of early favourites England, Jack Warner, the FIFA vice- president confirmed such thinking when he told reporters, “Yes, those negative reports actually did the English bid in. How do you expect us (FIFA) to give the rights to a country which has caused us all that embarrassment?”
If the opinion offered by Warner, in his capacity as FIFA vice-president, amounts to a policy statement, we think it is unfortunate, because it portrays the governing body of the most widely followed sport in the world as absolutely petty. We would have thought that FIFA should be able to rise above such childish act of vengeance. There are many who still think that FIFA should have expressed gratitude to the British media, for helping to expose the corruption mess which has long existed in the association.
While the FIFA president is entitled to hold on to his expressed opinion that the English are “disappointing bad losers, given that they are the motherland of fair-play conduct,” there are many around the world who salute and support the English call for reform in FIFA’s undemocratic process in deciding on World Cup hosts.
No one quarrels with Sepp Blatter’s defence to take football to all parts of the globe. That was the idea behind taking the World Cup Finals to Korea/Japan in 2002, South Africa this year, and even the United States of America back in 1994, at a time there wasn’t even a functional professional league in America, and where the beautiful game is still called soccer till this day.
While congratulating Russia, and Qatar on their success, we hope that the FIFA decisions which are largely built on promises and not reality will not backfire in the end. We rejoice with Russia’s Vice-president, who described FIFA’s nod as “FIFA’s trust of the Russian people.” We also hope that the cultural difference concerns expressed by many, as far as Qatar is concerned, would be taken care of, so that the quality of the World Cup (held just once in every four years) will not be compromised on the altar of a quota system.
In all these, we support those who crave for reform in FIFA’s governance of the popular sport. FIFA is too powerful as a body; the enormous powers of just 22 men, who at the moment operate as dictators, must be curbed for the good of the game. Whatever FIFA is not interested in, for instance, the goal-line technology Video review System, it throws into the dust bin.
It is FIFA who decides what is government interference, without realising that in developing countries, it is government which funds the running of football entirely. FIFA is so powerful that it discountenances government operations thus allowing offenders of the law to hide under the protective umbrella of FIFA. Why would football officials under the protective canopy of FIFA not be corrupt, when they know that the next letter from Zurich is a ban on their local football Association? FIFA’s next “letter” could well be headed for Ghana.
As recent events have also shown, FIFA has become a victim of its own arbitrariness. It is as if the World Cup hosting goes to wherever Blatter wants it. To lessen such arbitrariness and dictatorship, governments must work with one voice to reduce some of the powers of FIFA. After all, football is only a game, and should not be seen to be disrespective of sovereign countries.
Source:http://remedy07.blogspot.com/
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