Fifa NEEDS A CREDIBLE BOSS
Limitless tenures for Fifa bosses are at the heart of the mess the football body finds itself in now
Arsenal may finally be able to present their longsuffering supporters a Premier League title and Newcastle might succeed in avoiding relegation, which appears a cinch under the uninspiring leadership of Steve McClaren, but Fifa face a tougher task than the Gunners and the Magpies to get their house in order. The world football governing body is in a shambles and the odds of its resuming normal service under a credible leader are lengthening with each passing day as skeletons keep tumbling out. Fifa president Sepp Blatter and his putative successor Michel Platini are serving a 90- day suspension. The lack of leadership in Fifa is so obvious that a scion of the Bahraini royal family, for whom democracy is just a word in dictionary, is planning to run for the presidency. Vladimir Putin isn’t yet tempted to throw his hat into the ring. Bless him. The circus has to stop somewhere but nobody knows how the denouement would pan out. Platini could have emerged as a consensus candidate had he not been ensnared in a scandal. For doing some work for Fifa after the 1998 World Cup, the Frenchman received around $ 2 million from Blatter in 2011! The payment was made months before Blatter won a reelection for a fourth term. Neither man could show any written agreement. For most neutral observers, it appears that the money was paid to secure Platini’s support for Blatter’s re- election. At least, it wasn’t a compensation for genuine work. Who would wait for 13 years to get their due? Platini hasn’t yet given up hope on clearing his name. But his legacy, forged on the playing field rather than in board rooms, has clearly been tarnished. Those who plump for the involvement of former players in administration would be chastened by the travails of Platini. When it comes to dubious games in Fifa, there is little distinction between players and administrators with no playing experience at the highest level.
Limitless tenures for Fifa bosses are at the heart of the mess the football body finds itself in now. Every important post must be restricted to two or three terms. Fifa can’t hope to usher in reforms by allowing administrators to continue forever. Nothing breeds entrenched corruption more than the keenness of an incumbent to continue in power. As an insider, he knows how to pull the strings to perpetuate his position. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to enforce regulation from top to bottom.
The International Olympic Committee has learned its lessons in the aftermath of the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics bid scandal. It’s logistically easier and more profitable to host a Fifa World Cup than an Olympics, so attempts to buy the hosting rights of the football tournament are rampant. Fifa must take precautions to ensure that the World Cup hosts are chosen by people of unimpeachable character. It’s easier said than done because those who make up the all- powerful executive committee of Fifa come from different parts of the world with different intentions. Finally, the time has come to reconsider the rule that bestows each member a vote in Fifa elections. There has to be a distinction between Germany and Gibraltar. Votes of both can’t have the same weight. Maybe Fifa rankings at the time of an election can form the basis to determine the value of each vote.
Above all, football needs a nononsense person at the helm after the February 26 presidential election to steer the beautiful game away out of troubled waters.
Platini could have emerged as a consensus candidate had he not been ensnared in a scandal