Bids breed FIFA corruption
Dennis Keagile | Friday January 15, 2016 14:00
The latest is the sacking of the organisation’s secretary general Jerome Valcke. On February 26, the organisation will hold fresh presidential election to replace Sepp Blatter who has been at the helm since 1998 when he took over from Brazilian Joao Havelange.
Much is expected from the new president, but will corruption really end or it will just be minimised? Hosting the soccer World Cup means everything to the host countries. It is an event that politically, economically and culturally means a lot not to mention the sporting benefits.
Billions are set aside to improve infrastructure and millions channelled towards the bidding process. Basically, it is more of a senior boys challenge than anything.
The bidding and hosting countries go an extra mile, but it is the notion of survival of the fittest that has brought more corruption to the game.
If the process was fair enough, corruption would not have spread like cancer but the way things are it would seem no country has ever won the bidding fairly except in situations where there is only one contesting country and in one continent. FIFA, I still reckon we ought to stick to the rotation policy because I am reliably informed that it is not only the winning country that bribes but even those that lose are implicated. The survival of the fittest mentality ought to be removed from the bidding.
I know that because of the huge economic benefits that the world brings to a country, everyone wants a piece of the cake even through hook or crook.
FIFA has to improve on that front. No continent should feel like it is entitled to continuously host the World Cup. Europe, because of infrastructure and big economies, will always be the favourite and this is where things go wrong.
As a result, those coming from less developed countries and where there is rampant corruption, see this as a big opportunity to make more money. The idea of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) of rotating the Cup of Nations works well for the continent. And with soccer associations required to adopt the new constitution in line with FIFA requirements, I have a fear that the proposed changes go counter to what has currently happened at FIFA.
Chances of corruption and abuse of office which has been FIFA’s main challenge will now take root or be cemented within our own football associations.
Africans are not known for good governance and are fond of manipulating situations to suit their personal interests. Blatter has been accused of running FIFA like his personal business.
Perhaps we ought to wait until after the February 26 election to see what reforms will be brought about by the new FIFA president. There ought to be an overseeing body to avoid the calamities that developed at FIFA.
So far no candidate has made a compelling case to capture the imagination of many a football pundit. All of them seem to be making some popular statements whose outcome and consequences can mean a lot.
Some of them are saying they will revisit the bidding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. The impression being created is that those who won were corruptible and those who didn’t were clean.
This is a simplistic analysis of the problem because we all know that some of those who lost tried to bribe or bribed as well, but were not successful. Interestingly while the media houses are usually the first to report on corruption, it is also the media that pushes other countries on the edge because of bias in analysing some of these countries. The western media will always protect western interests and the very media will also seek some freebies to give good coverage.
Festive season
Do our professional players really understand the dangers of playing in social tournaments during the Christmas holidays?
This writer saw a whole host of professional players playing in social tournaments and the dangers of getting injured seemed not to matter as some of them hopped from one tournament to another.
The majority of them are well known and senior players who should know better. I know that they want to keep fit, but I am not sure if their clubs will buy their story in the event of serious injuries. It is a scary situation that one day could result in clubs suing players for breach of contract. Perhaps the players union ought to sensitise the players on this issue.
That said, the Mascom Top Eight semi-final draw has conjured up a mouthwatering two-legged games between bitter rivals, Mochudi Centre Chiefs and Township Rollers.
Chiefs are yet to reach the final and will need a huge psychological boost to break that duck. I therefore on behalf of the people of Francistown request that one of the games be played in Francistown.
I have a suspicion a Chiefs-Rollers semi-final can fill up the 27,000-seater stadium or near full capacity. It is a semi-final many are waiting to see. Adding spice to the games is that Chiefs are still hopeful of dislodging Rollers as league log leaders to defend their title.