When technology interferes

Day -936. WorldCup2018

Sometimes it's just not meant to be. On the road, no Internet. But day -936 does still exist. So it has been marked.

Russia and it's friends

Day -937. ‪WorldCup2018‬.

At this rate Russia are going to have an easy first round at their own World Cup. It's not unthinkable that the list of countries not wanting to play football against Russia is going to grow by 2018. And if that is so, there will be many requests not to be drawn in the same group as Russia at the World Cup.

Ukraine-Russia is probably not going to happen for a very long time. With Vladimir Putin dragging that conflict out to suit Russia's needs a status quo in 3 years seems likely.

Turkey are now portrayed, by the Russians, as Russia's new enemy over the downing of the Russian fighter jet and the refusal of Turkey to apologise. Today, Vitaly Mutko, President of the Russian Football Union, member of Fifa's Executive Committee, Chairman of the Russia 2018 organising committee announced that as part of the sanctions against Turkey no Russian football teams will be able to engage Turkish players in the January transfer window. And no Russian teams will go to Turkey for winter training camps. Turkey won't be invited to Russia for a friendly any time soon.

The Americans? Well, it was they who started the investigations into the allegations of corruption and bribery at Fifa, which led to the call for an investigation into how Russia got to be awarded to World Cup. Putin maintains it is all a conspiracy by the Americans to have Russia removed as hosts, all because the Americans are jealous. Depending on what happens with Turkey and Syria this could get worse.

The Syria situation could change. Right now Russia is about the only ally of the Syrian President al-Assad. Who Russian planes are bombing is still unclear but by 2018 there could be a different Syria. And whoever is leading that Syria might remember what the Russians did in 2015. Whether Syria will even qualify is still a big uncertainty but they are looking like they could be the story of the unlikely World Cup participants.

And who else? With Russia's political posturing right now they are sure to have more vocal opponents soon. By association, the whole of the UEFA member nations could be strongly anti-Russian, more than they are now over Putin's defence of Sepp Blatter and everything to do with Fifa. Whoever wins the next Fifa presidential election could have a huge impact on the relationship between Russia and the rest of Europe.

There will probably be quite a different political picture come 2018. One thing is for sure. The chances of politics staying out of football seem more unlikely than ever.

Rest day.....

Day -938 ‪‎WorldCup2018‬.

And on the 63rd day he rested. Tomorrow I'll be back and before you know it Round number 52 of qualifying in Oceania will be over.

A little bit of Syria

Day -939. ‪WorldCup2018‬.

There are days, and there will be more amongst the 939, where all I can do is find a good story. This is a topical one from a couple of weeks ago. The premise of it: the coach of the Syrian national team, in Singapore for a World Cup qualifier, wore a t-shirt with a picture of Syrian President Bashar as-Assad on it at a press conference and said he wanted to keep politics out of sport.

http://uk.reuters.com/…/uk-soccer-world-asia-syria-idUKKCN0…

Andrew Jennings

Day -940. ‪WorldCup2018‬.


Investigative reporter Andrew Jennings was not particularly interested in football when he researched and wrote his excellent book, "Foul" about corruption at Fifa, and followed it up with his BBC Panorama film. He hounded Sepp Blatter, Jack Warner and the whole of Fifa, and was refused entry to Fifa press conferences. All his work was vindicated this year with the charges brought against members of Fifa, Blatter's step down as Fifa president and the ongoing American and Swiss investigations. On hearing about the Swiss police raid and arrest of seven Fifa officials, Jennings said:
"I know that they are criminal scum, and I’ve known it for years. And that is a thoughtful summation. That is not an insult. That is not throwing about wild words.
“These scum have stolen the people’s sport. They’ve stolen it, the cynical thieving bastards. So, yes, it’s nice to see the fear on their faces.”

Here he is trying to interview Blatter the only way he could, by ambushing him on a street. The best crooked politician would have been proud of Blatter's performance.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5HaZ2ykBjdE

In-betweeners.

Day -941. WorldCup2018.

It's all pretty quiet on the international football front these days. Come March the Europeans will be gearing up for the next round of meaningless friendlies (or dreading them), where some players will be out injured because their club managers are worried about a sore pinky finger or tooth and other players will be playing their hearts out for a spot on the bench at Euro 2016.

Meanwhile, the rest of the world will be embarking on another round of Russia 2018 qualifying. The Europeans with 52 participating countries start in September 2016, while South America with only 10 teams have been at it since last month. Not to be outdone in the madness of prolonged qualifying processes, Oceania completed Round 1 in September and have another round to go to determine which two teams will play in the play-off to decide who will play in the intercontinental play-off in the hope that a team from Oceania makes it to Russia. One would not be amiss for thinking that there must be a lot of teams in the Oceania region, a lot of obscure countries that are not known. No. There are 11 teams. Eleven. And it takes over two years to whittle them down to one country that might make it to Russia. Australia got so bored with all of this they begged to be considered Asian and off they went to join a qualifying region where they would have more than one competitive match. That meant no more world record wins like their 31-0 win against American Samoa in 2002 qualifying. So New Zealand became the new giants of the Pacific Ocean. In the first qualifying phase without Australia, they made it to South Africa in 2010, drew their three matches in the first round and finished above Italy, narrowly missing out on a spot in the second round. That was after an intercontinental play-off win against Bahrain. In 2014, they weren't so lucky and had to play against an angry Mexican team, angry that they were relegated to the humiliation of a play-off to qualify. It wasn't even close. With New Zealand as the new big boys of Oceania and Australia now pretending they're Asian, it would be fairly comical if they ended up playing each other in the intercontinental play-off.

This amusing world cup qualification process distracted me from my original intention, to look for a football parallel of the current tension between Russia and Turkey. Football often has a good story that distracts from other unfortunate realities, even though that story may also be political and reflected in circumstances surrounding the football meeting of the two countries. In this case, it's a good thing that I got carried away with the 11 island nations in the Pacific as there is very little to report on a footballing history between Russia and Turkey. There are records of just two official matches between the mens' national teams, and both of them were friendlies in April 1994 and April 1998.  Russia won 1-0 twice. The old Soviet Union played Turkey 16 times, but never in a World Cup. But this current conflict is between Russia, not the countries of the Soviet Union, and Turkey. Some of those countries would hardly be supporting Russia right now.

So with no fascinating stories of epic, controversial football matches between the two countries we will have to hope that nothing comes of what is going on right now that would set a horrible scene for a possible meeting in the future. A World Cup group of Russia, Ukraine, Syria and Turkey in 2018 could be very, very interesting. Who would be first to boycott?

Big Phil for President!

Day -942. WorldCup2018.

If all else fails go with humour. I almost have to believe that that has become Sepp Blatter's mantra. Despite his self-proclaimed recent near death experience, the constant threat of an FBI, American and Swiss Attorney General investigation finding reason to prosecute him, and just the general mistrust by the majority of anybody with an interest in football following him wherever he goes (which isn't many places because he doesn't dare leave Switzerland for the fear of being arrested), he still manages to come out with a gem of an example of his "you'll-never-get-rid-of-me", Blatter-esque fighting spirit.

The lawyer for his partner in crime, Michel Platini, announced today that the Fifa Ethics Committee is looking to impose a lifetime ban on Platini. Blatter's spokesman said Blatter has not been informed of his recommended sanction, but that he is "deeply surprised" by the possibility of Platini being banned for life. Platini's lawyer says of course that it is a scandal and it is a conspiracy to stop Platini being elected Fifa president. When Blatter stepped down a few months ago, but didn't really step down, Platini was the instant favourite to replace him. Not so anymore. "Disloyal payments" and "verbal contracts" have practically put an end to all of that. But it's all ok. There is a list of very capable looking candidates ready to help us forget about the golden boy of French football and UEFA's great hope for a European-led Fifa. Just forget that one of them, the Sheikh from Bahrain, has been accused of torturing his subjects in Bahrain and that Tokyo Sexwale, the South African, has been a part of Blatter's inner circle and another 2 candidates had intimate knowledge of the workings of Fifa and UEFA and did nothing about all the allegations that came with the knowledge. Platini seems like a pretty clean-cut, upstanding individual next to this lot of fossils pledging the magical "reform of Fifa". Maybe, if nothing else, he should go back to his earlier support of Prince Ali, UEFA's supported candidate and the seemingly cleanest candidate in the elections held earlier this year. After all, hosting the national team of Malta and it's vote-wielding football association president and delegation in Turkey as part of a closed-door friendly against Jordan escapes the radar of corruption and gift-giving. It's just a friendly favour between friends and it's only little Malta after all.

Digress as I may, Blatter's pronouncement today was against this background of "how much worse can this get". When Blatter announced in June this year that he was stepping down as President, only 4 days after winning re-election the world, and not just the football world, took that as a resignation. A few days after that he "clarified" his "resignation" as not being a resignation after all. All he was doing was calling for an extraordinary session of the Fifa Congress to hold another election and that he would not stand for re-election. Or would he? Even that was very unclear. Then came the 90 day provisional ban by the Ethics Committee, while he was being investigated for the "disloyal payment". A few days ago his appeal against the ban was rejected. Today we get the news that, chances are, by association (with Platini's recommended ban) that he may be kicked out of anything football related for ever. Will he give up? Will he finally say, enough is enough and at least concede that it is laughable that he even consider holding on to his position as president? To all those people who can't remember if he did resign or not, will he say, that's it, I'm done.

No, what Sepp Blatter's poor spokesman says is :"Mr Blatter was elected by the Fifa congress and only the congress can remove his power.”  In other words he is still hanging on the his friends' support, the presidents of the national associations around the world who have been a part of the corrupt-laden, bribery-ridden world football structure (allegedly, of course) for all of Blatter's years. He believes, therefore, that they may actually vote him back in if he did indeed seek re-election.

To really understand how far Blatter took Fifa down the road of institutionalized corruption please read Andrew Jennings excellent books, "Foul!" and "“Omerta: Sepp Blatter’s FIFA Organised Crime Family”, together with his fantastic BBC Panorama film, "“The Beautiful Bung: Corruption and the World Cup.”

Yesterday, I mentioned the reincarnation of Luiz Felipe Scolari, Big Phil. Maybe it's not as manager of a smaller country at the World Cup in Russia that he needs to make his full return. Maybe what the world needs, and what those Fifa Executive Committee members need, is Big Phil barking out instructions in those stately Fifa boardrooms. If he can get something out of Fred, Hulk and Jo (well, OK maybe not Jo) just imagine how he could get those men in the ridiculously priced suits squirming in their fit-for-royalty boardroom chairs. It will be all action in no time.....or just after David Luiz leads them in prayer.

Big Phil is back!

Day -943. WorldCup2018.

It gives me great pleasure and enjoyment to announce that the, or at least my, cult hero of Brazil 2014 has resurrected his good name in China. Luis Felipe Scolari, the would be bringer of ultimate World Cup joy to the people of Brazil turned overseer of Brazil's biggest World Cup humiliation has struck gold with Guangzhou Evergrande of China. As recently crowned winners of the Asian Champions League, Big Phil is now only the second coach, after Marcelo Lippi, to win the continental club championship on two continents and a World Cup.

This is the man who was expected to deliver World Cup glory with the questionable talents of Fred, Hulk and Jo and David Luiz's reliance on help from the heavens rather than any defensive skill. After the Germans laughed their way around the pitch in their 7-1 demolition of the Brazilian dreams, Scolari was expected to drift off into the footballing sunset. Three weeks later he was back at where it all started, Gremio, where he won the Copa Libertadores in 1995. The deliverance from footballing hell didn't last long. He was soon off, walking out at the beginning of his second season saying he could do no more to improve the team.

Finally, in China, he is back to being a winner. And the relevance to Russia 2018? There is none really, yet. With Big Phil back in the winners' circle, who knows what underdog country will come calling for the man with the big character, looking for a World Cup miracle.

For your enjoyment: Platini at his best

Day -944. WorldCup2018

Sunday. A day to sit back and enjoy Michel Platini version 1.0, the footballer, the artist.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IU9S9oaa-AU

OK, goal number 9 is a bit comical but because it was a Platini free kick we must assume he put some magic on it.

Platini: end of the road?

Day -945. WorldCup2018.

Things are really beginning to happen at Fifa, the kind of serious business that may finally put an end to Sepp Blatter's aura of an untouchable. It was an aura that was largely self-manifested, but also supported by the many national association presidents who saw good, mostly monetary, reasons to feed this perception. Of course they may argue that Blatter's intentions were noble, that he did it all for the development of football around the world, mostly in countries that would not have had the necessary funds otherwise to build stadiums and provide programmes for coaches and young players. That these Fifa funds ended up going to questionable projects (allegedly) in certain countries run by political leaders who were also accused of similarly misplacing money meant for the good of the country added to the unfortunate network of support for Blatter.

Today, the investigatory arm of Fifa's Ethics Committee announced that it has finished investigations into Michel Platini's "disloyal payment" to Blatter. The results of these investigations, and recommended sanctions, are now passed on to the adjudicatory arm of the committee. Both men will be summoned to appear before the Ethics Committee shortly and will be "notified of the case against them and the proposed sanctions." (The Guardian) They will have a chance to plead their case in a personal hearing before a decision is made on whether the sanctions are implemented. It seems very likely that the committee has recommended a ban of several years.

Blatter has been defending serious accusations for a number of years. Over the last couple of years there were many officials involved in football, mainly in Europe, who argued that his constant defence and denial of these claims was hurting not only the image of football but was also hampering any chance of a thorough investigation. Platini, previously a supporter of Blatter, became a vocal critic in the last year. Perhaps this was a preemptive attempt at claiming the higher moral ground, in the knowledge that in a year where nobody seemed safe from investigations once the US Attorney General and FBI got involved, his time was definitely coming.

There are many who still remember Platini as a footballing hero, a player who single-handedly won the European Championships for France in 1984, who was part of France's great teams, twice World Cup semi-finalists, of the 1980s. He was a true footballing great, a pleasure to watch and a master of his sport. This continued for a while into his new life as an administrator, credited with making football a massive commercial success in Europe. The Champions League, while derided by some purists for it's saturation of football on TV with sometimes meaningless matches and the virtual elimination of the David vs Goliath match-ups, brought huge wealth to Europe's top clubs through TV rights and sponsorships. Maybe this desire to make football in Europe bigger than anywhere else in the world was the beginning of his downfall. Next year's Finals will have 24 teams. Was this an attempt to rival the World Cup, in terms of stature as the world's premier football tournament, and in revenues from TV. Maybe UEFA, under Platini, got too big and the dollars and euros signs too hard for him to ignore.

There are an endless number of highlights out there to watch, showing the art and beauty of Platini, the footballer. With the image of football amongst fans and non-football fans being perceived as tainted by corruption, sadly the future memories associated with Platini may be "disloyal payment" and "banned from football for 7 years".

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/nov/21/fifa-ethics-committee-asks-for-sanctions-against-sepp-blatter-and-michel-platini

Prince Ali, the "reformer"!

Day -946. WorldCup2018.

I look forward to the day, closer to the February 26th Fifa presidential election, when Fifa and football enter the general population's conscience once again and the name of one of the candidates,Tokyo Sexwale, is mentioned repeatedly. We are going to have jokes on talk shows, snickering on TV sports reports and a multitude of innuendo-laced comments on social media.

Equally as amusing in its ludicrousness is another candidate, Prince Ali of Jordan, being touted as a favourite while also being called a "reformer". What's a big part of his platform? That the thought of stripping Russia and Qatar of their World Cups will not even be considered, despite widespread allegations of bribery and corruption in the bidding processes and the appalling near-slavery conditions of the construction workers in Qatar. And the small matter of the Russian Minister of Sport, Vitaly Mutko  who is also the head of the Wolrld Cup orgaising committee being accused of being aware of the Russian athletic doping scandal is also of no pressing conern for Prince Ali. So where's the reform? Bribery and corruption allegations will be ignored by the potential new President, And the boys will take care of each other; Mutko is a member of the Fifa Executice Committee.

Reform, Prince Ali? Looks like more of the same, with a new name at the helm. Now if that name was Tokyo Sexwale, at least it might be entertaining.

https://www.rt.com/sport/322746-fifa-candidate-russia-qatar/

Tokyo Sexwale: Fifa manifesto

Day -947. WorldCup2018.

I'm using one of my lifelines today. I'm not going to miss a day so will call in the BBC to provide the info. It's pretty funny stuff about Tokyo Sexwale and his poorly written manifesto.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-34868723

Blatter and Platini

Day -948. WorldCup2018

Fifa's Appeals Committee today rejected Sepp Blatter's and Michel Platini's appeal against their 90 day ban from all football related activity. They are provisionally banned while Fifa investigates allegations of a "disloyal payment" from Blatter to Platini. It is understood that the Ethics Committee will decide on the case by the end of the year, and they could both receive 7 year bans.

So today's decision was just about the 90 day provisional ban. Both Blatter and Platini say they will appeal by going to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Even if they won this appeal, the investigations would carry on and if they did receive a definite ban they would have to appeal through CAS again.

Platini, of course, wants the 90 day ban overturned so that he can campaign for the Fifa preseident role. Below is the statement from Fifa:

"Joseph S. Blatter: the FIFA Appeal Committee rejected the appeal in full and confirmed in its entirety the decision (cf. art. 84 par. 2 of the FIFA Code of Ethics) concerning provisional measures taken ex parte by the adjudicatory chamber of the independent Ethics Committee on 7 October 2015.

However, for the sake of clarity, the procedure of the adjudicatory chamber of the independent Ethics Committee regarding the provisional measures is still ongoing, meaning that the adjudicatory chamber may still confirm, revoke or amend the provisional decision as stated in art. 84 par. 2 of the FIFA Code of Ethics.

Michel Platini: the FIFA Appeal Committee rejected the appeal in full and confirmed in its entirety the decision (cf. art. 84 par. 2 of the FIFA Code of Ethics) confirming the provisional measures taken by the adjudicatory chamber of the independent Ethics Committee on 20 October 2015. The decision of the adjudicatory chamber had been passed following the initial decision taken ex parte on 7 October 2015 and after having heard the party in this regard.

The decisions taken by the FIFA Appeal Committee were communicated to Mr Blatter and Mr Platini today, 18 November 2015.

According to article 67 of the FIFA Statutes, the decisions may be appealed before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS)."

(For interests' sake, art.84 par. 2 of the Fifa Code of Ethics states:  "The chairman of the adjudicatory committee may make his decision on the basis of the case files available to him, without hearing the parties, in which case the parties shall be summoned to a hearing or invited to submit written statements after the decision has been issued. After hearing the parties, the chairman of the adjudicatory chamber shall confirm, revoke or amend his decision".

Just football, lots of football.

Day -949. WorldCup2018.

You hear but you don't listen. You look but you don't really see.  You pay attention, or so you think, but you don't remember what it was you were supposed to be paying attention to. You follow football around the world but you don't notice that it takes three years to qualify for a World Cup.

It has taken this countdown for me to be really aware that there are countries around the world that started their qualification matches earlier than the official 1000 day countdown was started by the Russia 2018 organising committee. Less than a year after Brazil 2014 ended and more than three years before Russia 2018 starts, the lowest ranked Asian teams started playing. The winners have since moved on to the second round, but none of them will be even close to moving beyond that, let alone be in Russia.

Today Asia had it's first qualifier for the third round. Qatar, while building a team that will not be an embarrassment as hosts in 2022, have won all their matches so far. They move on courtesy of their latest win and China's draw with Hong Kong. There is a story there, the country playing as an independent state against the country that administers it.

Saudi Arabia scored 10 against East Timor. There's another story, when one looks back at the terrible events of 1999 that the country went through to fight against the Indonesian occupation and gain independence in 2002.

Iran beat Guam 6-0 for the second time, putting an end to the Guam fairytale story. And Syria got a 93rd injury time winner to beat Singapore (who had equalised in the 89th minute) to stay 1 point behind Japan in their group. That Syria story, with all it's political implications could go on for a while. And Iraq, a football crazy country who's supporters defy bombings and threats against them, won again to put themselves in a strong position.

South America looks like it's going to be very interesting and extremely close fought. The norm, for most South American qualifying tournaments, is that it is assumed that Brazil and Argentina will qualify (if they didn't automatically as hosts or holders) and the other teams will fight for the other 2 spots, and the 1 play-off place. Not so this time, so far. Argentina won for the first time today, their first win in 4. Brazil are slowly looking better. They beat Peru 3-0 today, but other teams are looking very strong. Ecuador have won 4 out of 4. Chile, the reigning South American champions have already beaten Brazil. Uruguay, convincingly beat Chile today and Colombia are back to being a real threat after their strong showing at Brazil 2014. Venezuela, Bolivia and Peru might be the only weaker teams out of the 10.

Africa is into it's second round of three. Today all the big teams ended any dreams and hopes the smaller countries may have had. Algeria beat Tanzania 7-0, after a surprise 2-2 draw in the first leg; Egypt beat Chad 4-0 to emphatically overcome a 1-0 loss in Chad and Nigeria were less convincing in beating Swaziland.

Of course, in terms of fairytales and dreams, Comoros had captured this neutral's imagination. Fan as I have been of Ghana in recent World Cups, the thought of the Islanders from Comoros pulling off a huge shock was fascinating. It was not meant to be, but it was in no way humiliating. Ghana fought to a 2-0 win, after a 0-0 draw in the first leg. As for Comoros, and maybe this was part of the fascination, the wait for their first ever World Cup win goes on. They'll be back in October 2019 when it starts over again, a new long road, that to Qatar.

Comoros

Day -950. WorldCup2018.

In 950 days I wonder what will be happening in the Comoros Islands. Chances are a sizable number of the population will be watching the opening match of the World Cup in Russia. There is a very minute chance that Comoros will be playing in that match or in days beyond that. To make that chance a possibility they will probably have to finally win a World Cup qualifying match.

Comoros won through their first round of qualifying by beating Lesotho. Beating without actually winning a match. After two draws they were though on away goals. In their second round tie against one of the African giants, Ghana, it looks like they are working on a similar strategy. The first match in Comoros was a 0-0 draw. Tomorrow they play in Ghana where victory for the home team should be a formality. But Comoros will need to score and if they do and hold on for a draw that will be another away goals "win" for them.

Everybody loves an upset and a small team making it all the way. It is almost ludicrous to think Comoros could be that team. For them, and their supporters, the 0-0 against Ghana was their big victory. But many a neutral may be keeping an eye out for that result in Ghana tomorrow.

Lebanon and football happiness.

Day -951. WorldCup2018.

Football, if it matters, carried on this weekend. Football stadiums, and other sport stadia, can be a gathering place for collective emotions. It can't replace, but maybe it can help repair.

Europe has not started World Cup qualifying. France, after their players spent a night in the Stade de Frace with their German opponents, have decided to go ahead with their friendly in England on Tuesday. The players were given the option of pulling out. All said they wanted to go.

On the day of the terrible double suicide bombing in Beirut, Lebanon, beat Laos 7-0 for their first home points. The match was played south of Beirut, in Sidon, at 5pm. The bombings were reported to have happened at 6pm. For those supporters in Sidon their apprehension was probably only about whether Lebanon would get 3 points and possibly overtake Kuwait who have been provisionally suspended by Fifa. In the end, at around 7pm, was there any joy?

On Friday, 26 people were killed in a suicide bombing and roadside blast in Baghdad.  According to the Ney York Times "attacks in Baghdad have taken place almost daily". Iraq did not play this weekend. They play in Chinese Taipei. Iraqis, sadly, have become used to football matches being targets of attacks. Yet it seems, nothing can dampen the supporters enthusiasm. After a suicide bomber killed 30 fans celebrating Iraq's semi-final win against South Korea, a new anthem became popular amongst supporters: "With our blood and soul, we will sacrifice for Iraq" (from www.thenational.ae). For some, football is their outlet from the misery.

http://www.thenational.ae/sport/football/20150715/football-in-times-of-crisis-iraqs-love-of-the-game-refuses-to-waver-in-face-of-violence

And in Africa the supporters of Gabon, Uganda, Zambia, Morocco, Congo DR and Guinea have good reason to be happy, if only for a short while and if only as a distraction from daily life, as they won to move on the next round of qualifying.

Paris ......

Day -952. ‪‎WorldCup2018‬.

Still nothing. Just more football stories amongst this horrible mess.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/14/german-football-team-spends-night-stade-de-france-paris-attacks?CMP=twt_gu%3FCMP%3Dtwt_gu

Paris

Day -953. ‪‎WorldCup2018‬.


https://mobile.twitter.com/BreatheSport/status/665326188680757248/video/1

Football on life support.

Day -954. WorldCup2018

Fifa, oh Fifa. Reform, change, new era. What about all those great plans we heard so much about, the promises of a new beginning with a new President? Today the Ad-hoc Electoral Committee, "established to oversee the electoral process for the office of FIFA president" (fifa.com) rejected the candidature of Musa Bility, President of the Liberian FA, "in view of the content of the integrity check report relating to him".

What was Bility's great sin? According to Fifa, "For reasons of protection of personality rights, the Ad-hoc Electoral Committee – while it has explained its considerations in detail to Musa Hassan Bility – will not comment publicly on the specifics of its decision."

Bility said that he was told that the main reason for his failed bid was his ban for 6 months by the African Confederation (CAF) in 2013. He suffered this punishment because he challenged the then President of CAF, Issa Hayatou and the way that Hayatou changed the election rules to make sure that he won re-election. Bility had his controversies. He was fund guilty of massive tax evasion in Liberia and "economic sabotage" by the Liberian government over a $30m contract for the reconstruction of an airport runway. But his challenge of Hayatou, even if it was an attempt at self-publicity might have actually made a difference. "My decision to fight CAF at the time was a genuine attempt to change African football and prevent rules from being arbitrarily violated," said Bility.

A Fifa statement also said, "The integrity check included a review of corporate records, litigation cases, bankruptcy proceedings, potential regulatory actions taken against the candidate and a review of media reports concerning potential red flags (fraudulent behaviour, match manipulation, human rights violations, etc)."

This applied to all the candidates. They put human rights at the end of that. Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa was approved. This is the Sheikh who has had serious allegation of rounding up footballers and other athletes for torture in Bahrain levelled against him. Allegations with some very concrete evidence. Yet he has passed Fifa's integrity check.

I do wish I had the right words to convey my dismay, sadness, disappointment at not only Fifa but at anybody in the world of football, especially those who run their national associations, who allow this to happen. The President may change but football is not going to. Put aside the monetary corruption. While linked, it is the moral corruption that is ruining this game. Men, and yes they are all men, are morally corrupting this game. Until they go, or are a meaningless minority, Fifa is going to be the same organisation comprised of member nations who vote for World Cups to be held in countries that have no regard for human rights. Presidents of FA's in little Caribbean nations are going to allow a World Cup to be held in a country where workers building opulent stadiums are treated like slaves.

What is the point of following the Fifa presidential election? Five corrupt football officials sitting on a wall......or, more appropriately, five corrupt football officials sitting in a Brazilian-mined-marble-walled conference room.......

I despair.

Football is back!

Day -955. WorldCup2018.

What a relief! We get a break from talk of Fifa and World Cups and get some countries playing to qualify for a Fifa World Cup. Politics takes a back seat for the next few days and football is on. Yes, we can dream.

While eight European countries are involved in play-offs for the final four spots in next year's Euros, there are World Cup qualifying in all the other continental confederations, except for Oceania.

Africa is in the second round, with the two leg elimination matches starting today. Zambia and Mozambique got narrow 1-0 wins over Gabon and Sudan respectively. The majority of matches in this round are quite mismatched on paper with wins for the bigger, more established nations expected to be a formality. But supporters of Comoros are surely allowed to dream of a win against Ghana. Comoros have never actually won a World Cup match. They drew the two legs of their first round encounter and advanced on away goals. The same can be said of Liberia, as they attempt to topple the Ivory Coast, one of the more successful African teams recently.

In Asia the much discussed, on and off again, repeatedly rescheduled match between Saudi Arabia and Palestine was played in Jordan on Monday and finished 0-0. This was Saudi Arabia's first dropped points after four wins but, more importantly, there was no further political fall-out.

The big match of the weekend is the Argentina-Brazil clash in Buenos Aires on Thursday. On top of the long standing rivalry there is added incentive for both teams after a somewhat shaky start to qualifying, especially for Argentina who have only one point after 2 matches.

The CONCACAF region starts it's fourth round group phase. It makes you think how Europe can get through their qualifying in about twenty months, yet the North, Central American and Caribbean teams are at Round 4 when the Europeans are a year away from starting. Anybody attending football matches in Canada and the U.S.A. will know that starting times are usually a guide. Turn up for a match at 6.45pm for a 7pm start (as stated on your ticket, on TV, online) and you will probably have some sort of pre-game show starting at 7pm, followed by a grand entrance of the teams, some fireworks maybe and a cheerleaders' show and at about 7.12pm the match will start. Seeing as these qualifying matches are World Cup matches and Fifa probably doesn't stand for these approximate start times, Canada-Honduras is listed on fifa.com as starting at 19.08 and the Americans kick-off at 18.10. Guatemala have also joined in on the odd kick-off time fun with their match listed at 19.06. Of course, the Americans and Canadians are still carrying on with their false advertising to the local fans. Canadasoccer.com has kick-off for 7pm. The Americans are more creative. Fifa were probably told 18.30 but ussoccer.com has them starting at 18.30. The American way, I guess. You got to make sure everybody on TV is watching all the commercials.

So a super long weekend on football ahead. No talk of corruption, bribes, Fifa presidential elections. But what's that that happened in Istanbul today? Surely a friendly match between Jordan and Malta was just that, a meaningless encounter between two teams preparing for more important future battles. So why are the President of the Maltese FA, Norman Darmanin Demajo and Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein, President of the Jordanian FA sitting so cozily in those comfy armchairs, at a football match? Prince Ali is a candidate for Fifa president and is out there looking for votes. Darmanin Demajo is the President of an association who's previous president is part of an alleged vote-buying scandal by the World Cup bid committee of Germany 2006. But even though there is the temptation to look for a story here, at the moment it sadly/happily looks like there is nothing untoward. Prince Ali said it was Darmanin Demajo who was the "catalyst behind his decision" to contest the presidential election in May, the one which Blatter won before stepping down.

Prince Ali told the UEFA congress in March: "I am particularly grateful to a colleague who visited Jordan one year ago and came up with a concept to unify FIFA’s work in this field. Thank you Norman (Darmanin Demajo). I want to translate your vision into reality.” And Darmanin Demajo annouced that the Maltese FA is firmly behind Prince Ali for this next election. This friendly match was a invitation from Prince Ali to the Maltese FA, to show their solidarity.

So we can move along, there looks like their is nothing to see here, apart from two men sitting in armchairs in a football stadium in Istanbul. And the men behind them thought they had snagged the comfy, VIP seats.
 

Wolfgang Niersbach. It's not confusing.

Day -956. WorldCup2018

There is a saying in Maltese which literally translates to "confuse me so I can understand you". It fits well in the Maltese sense of humour and it came to mind today. Football, you indeed are confusing.

Yesterday the President of the German Football Association (DFB) Wolfgang Niersbach resigned over a scandal surrounding the DFB and the bidding process for the 2006 World Cup. Nierbasch said he resigned because he realised he had to shoulder the political responsibility for the controversy surrounding the 6.7m Euros payment from the DFB to Fifa in 2000. He maintains he knew nothing about it and the DFB board still supported him.

Allegedly the payment was to reimburse the late former Adidas President Robert Louis-Dreyfus for money that he had loaned to the German World Cup bid committee. The money was supposedly for a slush fund that was set up to buy votes for the German bid. One of those supposedly "bought" votes was of the Maltese FA president, Joe Mifsud. Rather than just show up in Malta and hand over a brown envelope with $250,000 in it, the President of Bayern Munich, Franz Beckenbauer who was also the head of the German bid, set up a friendly match in Malta where Bayern played Malta. A contract was drawn up between the Swiss company CWL and the Maltese FA for TV rights for the match for $250,000. In a court case going on in Malta right now related to this match, Mifsud revealed that the contract was signed at his house, "because it was the weekend". The lawyer to the other party involved in this case pointed out that the contract was signed on a Thursday. "Well maybe I wanted to give them a drink", was Mifsud's justification. He "cannot remember" whether Beckenbaeur was present for the signing. It is quite normal that the President of a national football association doesn't notice the presence, or absence, of a football legend.

In the end, Germany won the right to host the 2006 World Cup by one vote over South Africa. It may have been Mifsud's vote and that of the now disgraced, former CONCACAF President Jack Warner. Beckenbauer's signature was found to be on a draft contract with Warner promising football related favours for Warner.

Nothing really confusing yet. It all just sounds like a now normal week at Fifa and one of it's member associations. But here is where the need to make it more confusing in order to be understandable arises. The DFB payment was made to Fifa, to reimburse the President of Adidas. Yes, indeed. Let's pay Pete back the money that Tom lent us. The clue may be in the wording of one of the reports. The money was paid back "through Fifa". And Adidas, not only as a major Fifa sponsor, has a very cosy relationship with Fifa, going back to the days of the setting up of the bribe and kickback machine, ISL, Fifa's media and marketing partner that was co-founded by the son of Adidas' founder.

The other bewildering fact out of yesterday and today's news is that Fifa have said they are going to investigate this DFB payment. That's expected, that they will say that. The extent of their investigation might be up for debate. However, there is one thing that seems, on the surface, not quite right. Although Niersbach resigned from the DFB he is keeping his position on the Fifa and UEFA executive committees. Niersbach saw fit to resign to protect the reputation of the DFB presidency. Yet, does he not see anything odd in being part of an executive committee that is going to investigate the possible illicit payment from the organisation that he was the president of to the organisation that he sits on the executive committee of. Yes it is true that the investigation may be independent. But, surely, he needs to cut himself loose from both the DFB and Fifa if he feels this moral responsibility. I suppose it is really only political responsibility.

Nothing related to Fifa is simple these days. This latest allegation will play out over the next few weeks and it will be more confusing along the way. But in the end I'm sure we will all be none the wiser about what really happened. And, Fifa, will we ever understand you? 

Not us, say the Russians.

Day -957 WorldCup2018.

Many times between 1992 and 1995 my mother would ask me, "so explain to me again, in this Croatian/Serbian/Bosnian war, who's who and who are the bad guys?". We would have this conversation repeatedly, me telling her what I knew, from following the news, what the difference was between the Croats, the Bosnian Croats, the Serbs, the Bosnian Serbs and on and on. Who was I to say who the bad guys were. As we sat in front of our TV, watching the suffering of these poor people everyday, my opinion was of little value other than to put this on-TV war into some sort of understandable perspective.

Today I can imagine calling my Mum and her asking me, "so who are the bad guys now, the Russian athletes, the Russian coaches, the Russian drug testers, the Russian Sports Minister, or WADA?" And she would probably add, but maybe only to herself and because she watched sport and had her favourites more for the personality than the results, "just as long as it's not Seb Coe, he can't be bad". The consequences of athletes taking drugs to win a race and the actions of those who gave them the drugs can hardly be compared to the horrors of the Balkan war. But still we need to find an understanding of, a way to cope with, the things around us that we care about and feel we are a part of, as supporters of sport in this case. As Tom Fordyce, Chief Sports Writer at the BBC, wrote today in his excellent piece about the Russian drug scandal: "For those who watch from the outside, who invest financially in tickets and television subscriptions and emotionally in the big nights and great races, there is a betrayal equally as significant."


That sentence is true for any football fan all over the world. Dick Pound, who chaired the independent commission  for the World Anti Doping Agency, unsurprisingly said that there are probably other sports and other countries that could be guilty of the "corruption and bribery practices" uncovered at the International Association of Athletics Federations. It has been well documented that similar allegations have been ongoing at Fifa for a while.


But how does this staggering news have anything to do with football, Fifa and Russia 2018? The simple link is Vitaly Mutko. The more complex explanation may come to light over the next 957 days.

Vitaly Mutko is Russia's Sport Minister. Today's report says it is impossible that he did not know what was going on. "It was impossible for him not to be aware of it. And if he’s aware of it, he’s complicit in it", said Dick Pound. Mutko is also Chair of the Russia 2018 organising committee and President of the Russian Football Union. He is also a member of the Fifa Executive Committee. To say he is a variety of interests in the success of the World Cup in 2018 is an understatement. 

If Fifa's ExCo have any issues with the preparations of the World Cup, in as much as they serve Fifa's interests they would consult with the local organising committee. If there was a problem with the organisng committee the government may have to step in, with the first line of defence, so to speak, being the Sports Minister. Who's interests does Viatly Mutko primarily serve? And if any issue goes beyond the Sports Minister and a higher level of government is called upon for intervention, the First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation may be consulted. And he is Igor Shuvalov, who is also First Deputy Chairman of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Local Organising Committee Supervisory Board. It doesn't look like anybody would have to dig very deep to find evidence of political interference in the organisation of Russia 2018.

As a side note, Mutko was the Sports Minister who presided over Russia's worst ever showing at an Olympics, in Vancouver in 2010. But it wasn't just the disastrous results that irked the Russians back home. He was accused of excessive expenses while in Vancouver, including 97 breakfast vouchers and $1500 a night hotel rooms.

The Russians were again on the defence today as they were when the Fifa corruption allegations surfaced. Any mention of corruption links to the awarding of the World Cup to Russia were rebuked as a conspiracy against Russia from the jealous Western countries, led by the Americans. In reaction to today's news, Mutko said, "whatever we do, everything is bad". Russians were persecuted over doping, he said, and other officials said it was a "political hit job". It's hard to see this defensive attitude letting up anytime soon. And football and it's supporters may suffer.

Tom Fordyce points out, quite rightly however,  that football fans do have a choice: "If the voting process that awarded Fifa's World Cup to a small desert state with a questionable human rights record disturbs you, campaigners would suggest you boycott the sponsors who bankroll it."

And again from Tom Fordyce,  in a statement that applies so well to football: "Sport only survives if we all keep coming back. We come back because we believe in it. If that trust goes, everything else falls with it. It is a bottom line that brooks no argument."

"So Aidan, tell me again, who are the bad guys?" Well, have you got more than a few minutes? It's really not that difficult, but a little complicated.....

Musa Bility

Day -958. WorldCup2018.

In any election there is very often a candidate who is seen as either the maverick, easily dismissed as the non-serious addition to the list or as an interesting alternative to the candidates who promise the world but offer few tangible changes to the present administration or leadership of an organisation. For the next Fifa presidential election Musa Bility is that guy.

Bility is the President of the Liberian Football Assoiation. He is also a very successful businessman as CEO of Liberia's largest petroleum importer, Shrimex, and owner of the Renaissance Communications media conglomerate. Bility has been very active on the political scene in Liberia. He is a strong ally of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and was said to be the unseen force behind her campaign in 2011 which saw her return to power for a second term. He has also been assigned a number of positions of trust by the Liberian government: Chairman of the National Port Authority, Chairman of the Boards of the Liberia Water and Sewer Corporations and the Liberia Airport Authority.

When he announced his candidacy in early summer, he declared himself the favourite. This was before Michel Platini's current problems and when he was seen as the clear favourite to succeed Blatter.

Bility said, "I think that I am the favourite. I come from the most popular continent. I do represent the largest block in football where the underprivileged nations are." This was also before the second African candidate, Tokyo Sexwale, joined the race.

"I always ask the question: What is the difference if someone wants Blatter to go, why do you want to replace him with Platini? What message are you sending? Do we just want to get rid of Blatter and so that's it? If that's it then Platini is the candidate. But if not, if we're looking for an honest and a fair beginning, then we have to start fresh with people with new thinking - as the [English] FA have said."

With the benefit of what we (allegedly) know now about Platini, this seems even more true.  And all of the other candidates are seen as being part of the old Fifa network. Biliti presents himself as the ultimate reformer amongst a field of candidates using reform as the buzz word. Amongst the early revelations from his manifesto were:

• a "reduction in the power of the 24 person Executive Committee"
• a call for the current Fifa crisis to be "dealt with in a transparent fashion"
• a need for Fifa to re-establish it's relationship with Interpol (there was funding for an anti-match fixing programme)
• a request for officials to declare their assets before joining Fifa

As reported in the Daily Maverick, from South Africa in June of this year Bility faces opposition from with the African nations. And this was before there even was a second African candidate. In 2011 he did not go along with the rest of the popular support in Africa for Blatter and instead declared he would be voting for Mohammed Bin Hamman in the presidential election. And in 2013 he did not win a seat on the African Confederation's (CAF) executive committee. This may have been because he mounted a legal challenge to the manner in which the CAF President Issa Hayatou changed the rules pertaining to who could stand for president. This challenge led to a six month for Bility from all football related activity.

This ban was ended early when Bility "made up" with Hayatou. Nevertheless, it is still interesting that Bility said in June that he would step aside if Hayatou decided to join the Fifa presidential race.

Bility has had his share of controversy. He was found guilty of tax evasion in Liberia for not paying the government $368,000 in taxes. He was ordered to pay a lesser amount and a judge also ordered the seizure of his assets and closure of his businesses. But, unlike in other countries, "transgressors in Liberia avoid jail due to their political and or Presidential connection by repaying what they have gained illegally." (Front Page Africa, March 2014). He was also indicted for economic sabotage in relation to a $30m project to rehabilitate a runway at the Roberts International Airport in Liberia. He has these charges dismissed by a judge "for government’s failure to prosecute him during the succeeding term of court, after his indictment, as provided for under the law."

He also has his opponents within Liberia who question his ability to run football in Liberia, let alone Fifa. Danesius Marteh of FrontPageAfrica described Bility's announcement as a Fifa presidential candidate as a "publicity stunt". "He’s just a maverick character looking for publicity at any cost and any level to get it"

Hawa Wesseh, writing in The Liberian Dialogue, argues that Bility, as president of the Liberian Football Association is "bereft of ideas" and "has no direction".  Wesseh maintains that Liberian football has been in a downward trend under Bility's presidency and his appointment of a national coach who is more "interested in is politics and not football" has contributed to this.

Whether Bility, therefore, is indeed the "reform" candidate is unfortunately questionable. However, when it comes to a maverick businessman, politician and football administrator it is only fitting to showcase an example of his character. The Liberian FA's "President's Column" page gives a glowing endorsement of well, himself, the President. All written in the third person it lists his numerous business and political achievements, with a passing mention of football. It is the last item on the list which adds to the mystique of this individual and leaves much for our imagination:


"Bility is married to Denise and they are blessed with several children".

Bility is married to Denise and they are blessed with several children. - See more at: http://www.liberiafa.com/about/presidents-column/#sthash.4zupFY2J.dpuf

Bility is married to Denise and they are blessed with several children. - See more at: http://www.liberiafa.com/about/presidents-column/#sthash.4zupFY2J.dpuf

Bility is married to Denise and they are blessed with several children. - See more at: http://www.liberiafa.com/about/presidents-column/#sthash.4zupFY2J.dpuf

Bility is married to Denise and they are blessed with several children. - See more at: http://www.liberiafa.com/about/presidents-column/#sthash.4zupFY2J.dpuf

Sepp, take a break!

Day -959. WorldCup2018.

After Tokyo Sexwale, I'm working on Musa Biliti, the Liberian candidate for Fifa President. But that will come tomorrow.

Today, I find myself sparing a thought for Sepp Blatter. When I read the news yesterday that he had suffered a "medical incident" I didn't give it much thought. Sympathy was hard to come by for someone who has taken the spotlight away from football and onto all the things that are wrong with football.

But on reflection, it's no wonder the man has been told he is suffering from stress-related issues. He is 79, was forced to step down from as President after the allegations of corruption got to close to him, he's been banned by his own organisation and he faces a daily onslaught in the media about how he has ruined Fifa. You wonder how he has managed to maintain his outwardly calm demeanour, that of a man who acts like none of these accusations will harm him.

A problem for Blatter right now is that he can't just walk away and say he's done. He can't come clean, to clear his conscience as he drifts off into a life away from Fifa. All the allegations must add up to some truth, and after years of denial any admission will lead to years of further investigations. If he says he has done nothing wrong but is implementing a self-imposed ban on anything even remotely associated with football it will leave a multitude of questions unanswered. He quite simply will not be able to do that.

So as much as he may dream of all this going away, it never will. He's going to have to be at his fighting best for many years to come yet.

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/nov/06/sepp-blatter-stress-fifa

More Tokyo....

Day -960. ‪‎WorldCup2018‬.

Tokyo Sexwale was completely unknown to me before he became Tokyo Sexwale, Fifa presidential candidate. I've had to do some research but can't pretend to know any more about him than any South African journalist. So here's a piece from RDM in South Africa. There's a couple of gems there.

Apparently Mr Sexwale doesn't have the backing of all of the African football associations. But is it unclear whether Botswana are opposed to his nomination or if they are just a little lazy when it comes to reading emails:
"One thing we know is that one of these letters {from the South African FA looking for support} landed in Botswana Football Association CEO Kitso Kemoeng’s e-mail inbox a couple of days ago, but our man never got around to reading the bloody thing in full." Classic.

http://www.rdm.co.za/…/not-everyone-wants-tokyo-sexwale-to-…#

Tokyo Sexwale

Day -961. ‪WorldCup2018‬.

Tokyo Sexwale is one of the Fifa presidential candidates. He has a bit of a questionable past, but more of that to come another day. If any more proof was needed that the majority of the candidates are part of the old system that is the problem at Fifa, this is a Reuters report on Sexwale's views on the sponsors' call for Blatter to step down.

"Major sponsors of world football went too far when they issued calls last month for the resignation of FIFA President Sepp Blatter, according to Sexwale.
In response to the scandals, Coca-Cola Co, McDonald's, Visa, and Budweiser owner Anheuser-Busch InBev, companies that have long linked their brand names to football, have issued almost simultaneous statements in October, demanding Blatter step down immediately in a strong push for change at the organisation.
"These companies have the right to speak. But I think we should be very careful how far we go with sponsors activism," Sexwale said.
Sexwale praised, instead, a more muted statement by sportswear company Adidas, which supported FIFA reforms efforts without calling for Blatter's ousting."

The relationship between Adidas and Fifa, and Blatter, goes back a while. Adidas has provided every ball for the World Cup since 1970 and has a contract until 2030. More significantly, Horst Dassler, the son of Adidas' founder was instrumental in Blatter's rise to power at Fifa. Dassler also co-founded International Sports and Leisure, the marketing company that became Fifa's main broadcasting partner but which also became the subject of one of the biggest Fifa controversies. After Dassler's death the company went bankrupt and it was alleged that it was at the centre of $100m in kickbacks to members of the Fifa Executive Committee.
To the normal world, the one outside Fifa and the one populated by the majority of those who elect the Fifa president, Tokyo Sexwale's use of Adidas' support would be seen to work against his chances. But, as a sad reflection on who does the electing, within the Fifa circles it is probably see as a sign of strength, a real one of us mentality. It is further proof of the concern that a new president is really just going to mean a new name, but it's going to be business as usual.

Saudi Arabia-Palestine: part 3

Day -962. ‪‎WorldCup2018‬. This is a partly confusing continuation from yesterday and also further proof of the unavoidable interference of politics in football.

To backtrack a little bit, once the draw for Palestine's World Cup qualifying group was made there was immediate concern about whether the Arab nations, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, would actually go to Palestine to play. To get there they would have to go though Israeli borders and therefore have political interaction with a state that they have no diplomatic relations with.

Palestinian Football Association Chair Jibril Rajoub is determined to promote Palestine and Palestinian football on the world map. He campaigned successfully to have the UAE play their match in Palestine and seemed to have come to a compromise with the Saudis to also play their re-arranged match there.

Rajoub, in his meeting with the Saudis, said: "It is our legitimate historical right to host historic home games on our land, and we are not going to give it up."

And later when it seemed that Saudi Arabia would indeed not play:
"We need to point out to all those who fear normalization with Israel,” Rajoub said, “that no such fear should arise as long as the goal is to play against the team of Palestine on the land of Palestine.” He also said that if no teams played in Palestine then there is no need for a Palestinian Football Association.

Yesterday, Saudi Arabia informed Fifa that they will not play the re-arranged match tomorrow as was decided by the Emergency Bureau for the Fifa World Cup Qualifiers. It was assumed that Palestine would be awarded a 3-0 win.

This withdrawal was greeted with praise by many on social media in Saudi Arabia:
"The message is clear: We are serious on our stance towards the Palestinian cause. Stay proud Saudi Arabia," tweeted Saudi YouTube star Feras Bugnah"
And Hamas joined in too: "We welcome the withdrawal of the Saudi football team from the world cup qualifier on occupied Palestinian land. We respect this position against normalising relations with Israel."

All good then, to a certain extent. And, as reported yesterday the UAE were happy as this increased their chances of qualifying.

Today, expecting a decision from Fifa, I instead was dumbfounded to read that the Saudi withdrawal has now been turned into yet another re-scheduling. Whereas yesterday the Palestinians were guaranteeing the security and safety of the Saudi team and delegation, today that got reversed. After a meeting between the Fifa match official, from Nigeria, and local officials, the Palestinian government said that it could no longer guarantee the safety and security around the matches in question (vs Saudi Arabia and the next one vs Malaysia).

Therefore the Emergency Bureau for the Fifa World Cup Qualifiers decided that both of these matches will both be played at neutral venues on November 9th and 12th. The Bureau is chaired by Sheik Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa. Yes, that same Sheikh Salman, President of the Asian Football Confederation and one of the candidates for the Fifa presidency. Controversial? Political interference? Deep, hidden agendas? The Sheikh's personal interests? Take your pick. But why the turnaround from, "come, you will be safe" to "no way we can guarantee you will be safe". And whenever has a team decided not to show up for a match and be allowed to get away with it?

And who is sad about all this, apart from the Palestinian football fans? The football supporters in the UAE. Yesterday The National newspaper was calculating the costs and benefits of the 3-0 Palestinian win for Saudi Arabia and the UAE respectively. Today, you could almost sense their disappointment in their reporting of this Fifa change of heart. Now they'll actually have to go out and win their matches.

Saudi Arabia-Palestine: Part 2

Day -963. ‪WorldCup2018‬.

When politics gets in the way of football, again. And this one is as murky as they get.

Saudi Arabia and Palestine were due to play their repeatedly postponed, re-scheduled World Cup qualifier this Thursday in the Faisal Husseini stadium in the West Bank. Today the Saudi Arabia Football Federation (SAFF) sent a letter to Fifa saying they were withdrawing from the match because of security and safety concerns for the Saudi Arabian team and delegation in the West Bank.

The meeting of these two teams has been the subject of many negotiations. The first match was supposed to be played in the West Bank but the two federations agreed to reverse the order and played the first one in Saudi Arabia. Before the return match in Palestine, the Saudis demanded that it be played in a neutral territory, citing undefined “exceptional circumstances.”

The Palestinian Federation refused to accept: "Depriving Palestine of the right to play at home is a dangerous precedent and impossible to accept under any conditions." Fair point.

The Saudis had invoked a "case of force majeure" in their argument for postponement to Fifa. The match scheduled for October 13th was indeed postponed and Fifa's "Bureau for the FIFA World Cup qualifiers" decided that it would be played this Thursday.

What is the SAFF's argument for withdrawal from the match? What are the “exceptional circumstances”? It doesn't take a genius in international relations and world politics to figure out that the SAFF's decisions are not purely football based and, indeed, not just coming from the SAFF.

The relationship between Saudi Arabia and the Palestinians is, yes, complicated. Saudi Arabia were, in the past, backers of Hamas, have been involved in efforts to unite Hamas and Fatah, have tried to encourage the disarmament of Hamas more recently and because of this have been accused by the supporters of Hamas of colluding with Israel and the US.

On the other hand, Saudi Arabia has no diplomatic relations with Israel. The irony is that many Arab teams refuse to play in the West Bank, as they say it normalizes Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories. In order to reach the stadium the Saudi team would have had to pass through an Israeli border.

Put very simply, Palestinian football is suffering even at the hands of it's Arab neighbours because in order to play there they are seen to be recognizing Israel's rights to the occupied territories. "Simply" is an understatement here as we know it is anything but.

Of course with any football related political story there is also a football side to it. Saudi Arabia have won all four of their matches so far and are comfortably ahead of the second placed team, the UAE. Fifa will, in all probability, award Palestine a 3-0 win and fine the SAFF (not they are probably too worried about that). It can be argued that the SAFF did some calculations and realized they could absorb this loss, with the substantial lead they already have.
According to The National newspaper in the UAE, there is also an outside chance that Fifa could disqualify Saudi Arabia from qualifying "if they are not satisfied with the SAFF’s reasoning for not playing the match." With the possibility of a further, bigger political storm erupting, which Fifa would not want to get into (and this without going into Fifa's current interest in the Middle East and vice versa) the chances of this happening are very slim. As a side note it is interesting that Fifa have no mention of this SAFF withdrawal on their website today, after publishing all the updates on the postponements and re-scheduling details.

But what The National newspaper is more excited about is how this "defeat" for Saudi Arabia has given the UAE a better chance of catching the group leaders. Because, like any football supporters in any country all you want is for your team, your country, to win and get to the World Cup and to let the politicians sort everything else out.

Saudi Arabia’s withdrawal from 2018 World Cup qualifier widens road to Russia for UAE | The National

Rest days

Day -964. ‪WorldCup2018‬.

Just like the Fifa presidential candidates I'm laying low for a few days. After all the excitement before the day that nominations had to be submitted we haven't heard much from, or about, any candidate. They'll be back to it soon and so will I. So will the qualifiers....Guam, Bhutan, Comoros, Syria and all your favourites will be back in action soon.

Rodrigo Palacio

Day -965. ‪‎WorldCup2018‬.

It's Sunday and I needed a break from the ongoing show at Fifa. So I thought some comic relief from the last World Cup would be good.

As I was watching football today something sparked a memory of Rodrigo Palacio and his rat-tail haircut. Palacio was mostly used a sub by Argentina in 2014. Every time he came on I wondered if this would be the time that his contribution to his team would take attention away from his awful single strand of braided hair hanging off the back of his head. I'm happy to know that I wasn't the only one who thought so. 

From the Daily Mail, July 1st 2014: "The rat-tail cut......ranks alongside the mullet as one of the worst hairstyles in history - but to then wear it to one side is a hair crime that not even an East London hipster would consider." 

And social media had a bit more fun with it.
 
http://www.ibtimes.com/rattail-memes-go-viral-twitter-after…

End of Fifa?

Day -966. ‪WorldCup2018‬.

Here's a good argument for the abolishing of Fifa. The members are the national associations, not the continental federations and they should be the ones seeking a change. Fifa's main job is to put on a World Cup every 4 years and with all this political posturing, "Does a sport really have to turn to undemocratic countries for its leaders just to be able to provide a World Cup every four years?"

http://www.theguardian.com/…/fa-greg-dyke-fifa-sepp-blatter…

And over in the Maldives.....

Day -967. ‪‎WorldCup2018‬.

We need a break from Fifa and the cut-throat presidential race.

Far from Fifa's troubled headquarters in Switzerland, the Football Association of Maldives (FAM) is currently going through its' own turmoil. Elections for a new president have been postponed for a year over infighting about the changes to the constitution. And the only candidate for the post was charged with corruption by the government, but he has now been cleared. So what needs to be done at the FAM to get it back on the straight and narrow?

It needs a clean, free-of-corruption, free-of-political-interference organization to come in and run it for a while. Yes, as a member of Fifa, FAM is being run by a normalization committee, appointed by those clean cut boys at Fifa. Oh the irony. And just today Fifa decided to extend the mandate of the committee until December 31st.
Must be a lovely feeling to have matters concerning football in your own country decided by an organization that is struggling to have its' own employees and executive members not suspended by its' own Ethics Committee.

http://maldivesindependent.com/society/maldives-moves-to-halt-polls-for-national-football-body-again-118738

Blatter speaks (leaks) out

Day -968. ‪‎WorldCup2018‬.

This is getting exhausting. The Fifa mess has now taken another twist thanks to an admission from its suspended, soon to be disgraced President Sepp Blatter. A simple conspiracy theory would suggest that this admission was no slip-up, but a planned confession knowing that the consequences are going to have to dealt with by the people who are looking to say good riddance to Mr Blatter. Blatter, always the schemer, even projecting how he can screw people after he's gone.

Sepp Blatter said in an interview yesterday that the hosts for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups were decided on before the votes were taken. Today his former adviser said "big players" on the executive committee agreed in "behind the curtain" talks who to award those world cups to.

Australia, who bid for 2022, had already said that they should get their money back, the money they spent on a bid that was all for nothing. And now those associated with the English bid for 2018 are saying the same thing. There was a lot of money spent. It is sickening that Fifa allowed all this money to be spent, knowing that it was all a waste.

So now this is a new branch of this Fifa story. It will play out over the next few months leading up to the presidential elections in February. And as all the bickering continues and the new President and Executive Committee have to decide if anybody needs to be refunded and where to find the millions of dollars, the man who was responsible for it all will be enjoying his forced retirement, chuckling all the way to the proverbial bank, probably still finding ways to avoid any criminal charges.

http://m.bbc.com/sport/football/34671834

UEFA vs. Fifa

Day -969. ‪WorldCup2018‬.

A conversation I had a couple of days ago got me thinking about the possibility of UEFA splitting from Fifa. Could it happen? Of course it could, but will it? A researched opinion was needed and more may come but here's a start.

Fifa is the governing body of football.

The members of Fifa are the 209 national football associations.

The continental confederations, including UEFA, are not members of Fifa.

The confederations provide support for Fifa; they run football in their continents.

Fifa runs the World Cup, World Club Cup. UEFA runs the European Championships, the Champions League.

If UEFA split from Fifa they would have to set up a separate governing body. The national associations would have to cease being members of Fifa and join the new UEFA body (legal ramifications have to be investigated further). Let's call it UEFA 2.

European players would now be members of UEFA 2. They could play in UEFA 2 competitions. Non-European players playing with European clubs would have to choose playing for their clubs in UEFA 2 competitions or for their non-UEFA 2 countries.

Non-European countries could join UEFA 2. Therefore UEFA 2 could organize a "World Cup" with these countries involved.

Fifa would have its own World Cup.

Players from non-UEFA 2 countries who choose to play in UEFA 2 competitions (eg Champions League) would not be able to play in Fifa's World Cup.

Fifa's World Cup would be diluted, with less countries and of lesser stature. And if the bigger countries did play, they would be without the big star players who choose to play in UEFA 2 competitions. Fifa's World Cup would be less attractive.

What would the major sponsors do? They would go to where the big players are, to what people want to watch on tv. Fifa's competitions would lose more value; no big sponsors, no big players.

The Russia question. If UEFA 2 was set up before Russia 2018 and the European countries didn't participate in Russia 2018, it is inconceivable that Russia would join UEFA 2. They would most likely join the Asian confederation.

One more interesting situation. Fifa doesn't administer the rules of football. This is done by the International Football Association Board, the IFAB.

The IFAB's voting power is 50% Fifa, 50% the boards of the British Fa's.

If UEFA splits from Fifa the British boards would opt out of the IFAB, not wanting to work with Fifa.

Would there now be two sets of rules, one administered by the British boards or a new UEFA 2 board, and one by Fifa. Could there be two "codes" like rugby union and rugby league.

Of course this is all hypothetical. There was more talk of this when the initial investigations into UEFA started with talk of splitting and boycotts. It has died down a bit now. And it's all a little murkier with Platini's reported ties with Fifa. If a European candidate, Platini or Infantino, wins the Fifa presidential election then maybe UEFA will stay on board. If one of the other hopefuls wins then will UEFA leave in protest?

And on top of this, my very general overview, there are many more political and legal ramifications that have to be looked into.

Do I think it will happen? No. But what I do believe is that, under Platini, have been trying harder to become bigger than Fifa. The European Championships which had 8 teams up until 1992 will have 24 teams next year. Was this because of Platini's vision of growing football in Europe? Doubtful. More teams means more matches, more advertising, more sponsors. Platini, I believe, wants the Euros to be a bigger event than the World Cup. Next step? Invite guest teams from South America, than Africa and Asia. And there you have your UEFA World Cup. And all those countries are still members of Fifa, so are allowed to compete.

Simple view? Sure. But something big is coming.

Presedential Candidates: a recap

Day -970. ‪WorldCup2018‬.

Try as I may to move away from this mess at Fifa and on to other happenings around that will have an influence on Russia 2018, I just cannot ignore it when more news everyday gets me thinking and re-thinking what I posted the day before. My head spins trying to get these thoughts out so let's try it in simple sentences and see where the logic takes me.

Sepp Blatter stepped down as Fifa president, days after being re-elected after the allegations of corruption reached new heights of undenialability.

Michel Platini backed Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein in that election; a European, head of UEFA, backing an Asian candidate.

After Sepp Blatter stepped down, Platini announced he would be a candidate and UEFA fully backed him. Prince Ali was now a rival.

UEFA backed Platini as the candidate for reform, for change, just what football needed.

Soon after, Blatter and Platini were both suspended by FIfa for 90 days, with allegations of a "disloyal payment" from Blatter to Platini.

Platini came out fighting (when he did come out all, as he was eerily quiet for a while) and maintained his innocence with some very shaky arguments to back him up.

Favourite candidate number 1 had now been tainted with the corruption label; and so much for a clean break from Blatter, he was closer to Blatter then most suspected.

So it was time for a new name to enter the race, one who would really reform football.

We got a few murmurs of former players being interested: Zico, Ramon Vega and David Ginola talked about re-entering the race. None of them were taken seriously; not enough backing they said which really means not enough political know-how, too interested in football.

One former player is an official candidate, David Nakhid, from Trinidad and Tobago with the support of CONCACAF.
CONCACAF was Jack Warner's playground, Jack Warner who was suspected of every illegality connected to corrupt football practices under the sun and eventually banned for life.
Do CONCACAF need a new clean image to win back some moral standing in the football world? Sure. And there's their clean candidate, David Nakhid, untarred by the corrupt Fifa brush.

But stronger candidates were needed, somebody who would really stand up to the evil at Fifa.

Favourite candidate number 2: Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa. The Sheikh is the President of the Asian Football Federation and has the full backing of the Asian countries. Apart from his controversial recent background in Bahrain, he is also very close to Blatter. The Asian countries were also fully behind Blatter.

Favourite candidate number 2: Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa. The Sheikh is the President of the Asian Football Federation and has the full backing of the Asian countries. Apart from his controversial recent background in Bahrain, he is also very close to Blatter. The Asian countries were also fully behind Blatter.
Favourite candidate number 2: reform, breath of fresh air and all that? Not quite.

So we need some more hopefuls. Enter Tokyo Sexwale, from South Africa. He has a good story, ex-apartheid prisoner turned multimillionaire. The "reform" candidate? Erm, a bit tricky, seeing as he had close ties with Blatter and was part of the South African World Cup organizing committee that has come under scrutiny for alleged illegal payments to Jack Warner.

Looking so far like Blatter, version 2.0 will be the next President.

Who else? Prince Ali's still there, except now he doesn't have the backing of Platini, or UEFA. His biggest rival is another Asian candidate, who UEFA also oppose.

UEFA, at the last minute, sent out a prize substitute for Platini: Gianni Infantino, general secretary at UEFA and Platini's right hand man. He knew everything Platini did, probaby advised him, and by default can also be seen as being close to the existing UEFA/Fifa coziness. Clean, reformist? Hmm. Not even really worth talking about because that's all he is, a sub for his boss and will make way for him if, and when, his ban is rescinded.

And why do UEFA need a strong candidate? To oppose the Sheikh.

Anybody else? The President of the Liberian FA, Musa Bility. He doesn't even have the backing of the Africans so not worth considering, unfortunately, despite what are, I'm sure, his best intentions.

And then there's Jerome Champagne, former deputy to Blatter at Fifa. Enough said. Yes, he fell out with Blatter and has a desire to see him and his people defeated, but he's still a Fifa insider.

So where does all this leave us?
The move for change, for reform, for a new start has degenerated into a political battle between four continental confederations backing their candidates against each other, not to mention there is more than one candidate from three confederations.

Can I even summarize all this?
Blatter, allegedly corrupt: gone.
Platini, evidence of corruption: almost gone, but hanging on.
Four others: ties to Blatter: should be gone.
Bility: good luck.
Nakhid: clean so far. Good choice, maybe. Chances: very slim.
The score so far: Politics 6: Football 2.

More presedential candidates

Day -971. ‪WorldCup2018‬.

This Fifa presidential race, if it wasn't already, is becoming even more entertaining and ridiculous than the US presidential race, Donald Trump and all. So what happened today?

On a sad note, indicative of how politics (and money) rule over anything that any decent human being sees as being wrong in the world, Sheikh Salman confirmed he will be standing as a candidate. The Sheikh, with the very controversial background in Bahrain, including his alleged complicity in identifying pro-democracy footballers for torture, has the backing of all the Asian football federations. Digest that for a while: what he is accused of and that he has widespread backing.

After that, sort of expected bombshell, we had another interesting addition to the list: Gianni Infantino. Mr Infantino is the general secretary of UEFA, and Michel Platini's right hand man. He has the full backing of UEFA who said, in a statement: "He has been a long-time advocate of the need for change and renewed development at Fifa and would bring a refreshing and informed voice to the top table of football’s world governing body."

Now, I'm sure you could find a similar statement of support written by UEFA for Platini. Why Mr Infantino all of a sudden? Two reasons, kind of rolled into one. UEFA are worried about Sheikh Salman having so much support and you hope this is because the powers that be at UEFA are not as morally corrupted as those in the Asian Football Confederation, and not just because they want a European in power. Also, UEFA are having to deal with the fact that their main man, Platini, is currently suspended from all football activities and may not be able to run for Fifa president. So UEFA needed an alternative to rival the Sheikh. The feeling is that if Platini is allowed to run, then Mr Infantino will step down.

And if all that wasn't enough, one more name jumped into the mess: Musa Bility, head of the Liberian FA. Does he have much of a chance? About as much of a shot as Donald Trump should have in a normal world: next to nothing, especially seeing as the CAF (African confederation) is not backing him. Their nominee is Tokyo Sexwale, the South African former apartheid era prisoner with Nelson Mandela. It sounds like a good story but his close ties with Sepp Blatter and the old Fifa are disconcerting and confusing. Want change, nominate one of the old guard. Huh?

And so the fun goes on and on. If it wasn't for the sad, scarcely believable nomination of Sheikh Salman it would just be a ridiculous circus that we could all laugh at.

David Nakhid

Day -972. ‪WorldCup2018‬.

When you hear the name of David Nakhid, candidate for Fifa president, former captain of Trinidad and Tobago, it's easy to stop there and think he's just another ex-footballer trying to get into football administration, albeit at the highest level possible. Then you (I) think, everybody has a story, famous or not. What's his story? After playing in Switzerland and the US, he now has a football academy in Lebanon. Significant? Well, when you read about what he thinks about his rival candidate Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein, and his possible rival candidate Sheikh Salman, it should make you think that he knows what he's talking about. He knows the region, he knows the football there but more importantly he knows the politics. And it looks like that's where the next president may be coming from.

"You look at Prince Ali, someone who has been head of his own association since he was 23, 16 years. Now he wants to come and talk about reform? He has been there 16 years by decree. What can he tell us about reform? Has he had a challenger in those 16 years or has been there as a Prince? Come on".

I like this guy. Sadly, he is a political lightweight in this race. Only the naive few would think that a love of football, and all that goes with that, counts for much.

http://www.dnaindia.com/sport/report-david-nakhid-launches-fifa-campaign-with-attack-on-front-runners-for-presidency-2136222

Presedential candidates

Day -973. ‪WorldCup2018‬.

Two new names have been added to the list of candidates for FIfa president. The deadline for registration as a candidate is Monday, October 26th. Lots of names have been mentioned but there are only 4 official hopefuls so far.
Yesterday, Jerome Champagne declared he was going to stand. Mr Champagne was the former deputy General Secretary (to Sepp Blatter) at Fifa. He campaigned to run against Blatter at the last election, but didn't get the required support from five football federations. A candidate from within Fifa, with ties to Blatter? I don't know.

Today saw an interesting addition. Tokyo Sexwale, was a prisoner at Robben island with Nelson Mandela. He became a multi-millionaire mining tycoon and was also the host of South Africa's version of "The Apprentice". He has worked for Fifa on their anti-disrcrimination committee and was a mediator between the Israeli and Palestinian federations.

The above two gentlemen join David Nakhid, ex-captain of Trinidad and Tobago, Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein of Jordan and Michel Platini as candidates for the February 26th election.

Others will join. Former players Zico and Ramon Vega need to get the necessary support by Monday. Hopefully, national football associations around the world will see sense and not back the nomination of the controversial Sheikh Salman, of Bahrain.

"The Other Shiekh", again.

Day -974. ‎WorldCup2018‬. 

Sheikh Salman, again. It is astounding that this man is the new favourite to become the new Fifa president. I hear you say it's really not that surprising. This is FIfa after all. But after all that's happened, and is happening, its quite unbelievable that there are still football officials in the world who want this kind of peron to be the most powerful man in world football.

This is the  latest view today from the General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation: "It's difficult to know how low Fifa politics can actually go. Football's governing body refused to investigate the allegations against Sheikh Salman from 2011, and it is inconceivable that someone who is facing such grave allegations of human rights violations could step into the void at the top of Fifa resulting from Swiss and US corruption investigations."

Fifa politics will go as low as they possibly can until somebody steps in and not only shakes up Fifa itself but all those corrupt, ethically and morally bankrupt Football Association presidents all over the world who put up with this behaviour and encourage it.

No World Cup in Russia and Qatar?

Day -975. ‪WorldCup2018‬.

I just came across this from a few months ago. Alternative host countries for 2018 and 2022 World Cups? I've said it before: I will be extremely surprised, like I've never been surprised before if Russia and Qatar lose these World Cups. There will be a political backlash way too big for Fifa or football to handle.

http://www.independent.co.uk/…/england-favourites-to-host-2…

Another one: Angel Maria Villar Llona

Day -976. ‎WorldCup2018‬.

Yesterday the Fifa ExCo decided that the Ethics Committee will publish, at is discretion, details of ongoing proceedings to allow for more trasparency in it's work. The ExCo also appointed Ángel María Villar Llona as acting chairman of the organising committee of the World Cup, seeing as the actual chairman, Michel Platini, is currently serving a 90 day suspension.

Today Fifa confirmed that a number of officials are either under investigation by the investigatory chamber of the Ethics Committee while proceedings against two officials have already been passed on the the adjucatory chamber of the Ethics Committee. One of them is Franz Beckanbauer, who was involved in the winning World Cup bid for Germany in 2006 and the other? Yes, Ángel María Villar Llona.

Under the Fifa code of ethics, "all parties are presumed innocent until a decision has been passed by the adjudicatory chamber." So this allows for two thoughts. One is that the Fifa ExCo already knows the decision of the (Independent) Ethics Committee and appointed Mr Villar Llona as he is innocent of any charges. Or, the Fifa ExCo, in true Fifa fashion, have decided to go ahead with the appointment regardless of the charges against Mr. Villar Llona.

Is this just another example of Fifa irony, a twisted sense of humour? Remember my quote yesterday from Nicholas McGeehan, the Gulf researcher at Human Rights Watch, about Sheikh Salman of Bahrain: "If a member of Bahrain’s royal family is the cleanest pair of hands that Fifa can find, then the organisation would appear to have the shallowest and least ethical pool of talent in world sport." Paraphrase that as you wish, inserting the name of Ángel María Villar Llona.