Day -835. WorldCup2018
Bring back the football. It's been more about the politics recently. Come March 24th the marathon qualifying campaign resumes in Asia, South America and North, Central America and the Caribbean. Africa and Oceania will follow in the spring. The Europeans will enjoy their own Championships this summer before starting their qualifiers in September.
No Fifa election now and no football until late March. I'll have to look for some other source of material for a few weeks.
Monday 29 February 2016
Sunday 28 February 2016
Malta, one more time.
Day -836. WorldCup2018.
I'm trying to keep up my Sunday tradition of a World Cup memory with a comical twist. This week I wanted it to have a Maltese theme, to wrap up my Maltese heavy week. So I thought after yesterday's non-victory victory against West Germany I would find a real World Cup win. But there have only been 2 and I have mentioned them in the past: the 1-0 in Estonia in 1993 and another 1-0 in Armenia in 2013.
Yes. That's it. Two wins, both in Eastern Europe. Therefore, I feel Malta's best chance of a win in the 2018 qualifying is against Lithuania, in Lithuania on October 11th 2016. That match comes 3 days after Malta play England, in England and Lithuania play in Scotland. Maybe they could just meet in Manchester. Get it over and done with and let the Maltese players get back home without the inconvenience of a trip to the Baltics after what will have been quite an exhausting (but hopefully not traumatic) experience at Wembley.
The Maltese supporters look forward to win number 3. The results are getting better, nightmare results of the past are a distant memory. Just don't ask about THAT 12-1 against Spain.......
I'm trying to keep up my Sunday tradition of a World Cup memory with a comical twist. This week I wanted it to have a Maltese theme, to wrap up my Maltese heavy week. So I thought after yesterday's non-victory victory against West Germany I would find a real World Cup win. But there have only been 2 and I have mentioned them in the past: the 1-0 in Estonia in 1993 and another 1-0 in Armenia in 2013.
Yes. That's it. Two wins, both in Eastern Europe. Therefore, I feel Malta's best chance of a win in the 2018 qualifying is against Lithuania, in Lithuania on October 11th 2016. That match comes 3 days after Malta play England, in England and Lithuania play in Scotland. Maybe they could just meet in Manchester. Get it over and done with and let the Maltese players get back home without the inconvenience of a trip to the Baltics after what will have been quite an exhausting (but hopefully not traumatic) experience at Wembley.
The Maltese supporters look forward to win number 3. The results are getting better, nightmare results of the past are a distant memory. Just don't ask about THAT 12-1 against Spain.......
Saturday 27 February 2016
Malta: 1984!
Day -837. WorldCup2018.
I need a break from Fifa. So to follow up on my entry from yesterday below is video evidence of one of Malta's greatest "victories". Hey, two goals against West Germany in a defeat by one goal, in 1984 that was a victory.
I was there. The stadium was packed and I remember that first goal from the Maltese super-legend Carmel "il-Busu" Busutill perfectly. That turn at the edge of the penalty area and perfect shot into the far corner, the crowd going wild with disbelief. And that is no cliche. It was heaven. 1-0 up against West Germany! I also, unfortunately, equally remember the blooper by the Maltese goalkeeper, Ray Mifsud, that gifted the Germans an equaliser. I had an ongoing 20 year argument with a friend of mine about who the Maltese goalkeeper was that day, the regular, John Bonello, or the number 2, Mifsud. We haven't spoken about it in while but 31 and a half years later I can confirm it was Mifsud.
At 1-2 and about 5 minutes to go it was a great result. A third German goal made it a little disappointing but still it was a fun day to be at the stadium. Then, with a couple of minutes to go, Ray Xuereb scored again. Cue delirium in the stands once more (and there were people standing at every vantage point, in and outside the stadium). In the excitement, I don't remember much beyond the goal. But if you watch the video, look how Xuereb, or it could have been the other legend, Raymond "il-Mundu" Vella, grabbed the ball out of the net and ran back towards the centre circle as in to say to his team mates, "C'mon, let's get this going. We can get another one". But before he made it back to the centre he kicked the ball up to the heavens and far away. Quick change in his thinking, I guess: "2-3 is fantastic, don't let the Germans have the ball. We only have one and somebody from the stands might be on their way back to Valletta with it already".
Nowadays a loss is a loss and only when we actually score more goals than our opponents is it a win. And that's the way it should be. But, oh boy, were "victories" like this one in 1984 ever fun.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RLqkssy5Qg
I need a break from Fifa. So to follow up on my entry from yesterday below is video evidence of one of Malta's greatest "victories". Hey, two goals against West Germany in a defeat by one goal, in 1984 that was a victory.
I was there. The stadium was packed and I remember that first goal from the Maltese super-legend Carmel "il-Busu" Busutill perfectly. That turn at the edge of the penalty area and perfect shot into the far corner, the crowd going wild with disbelief. And that is no cliche. It was heaven. 1-0 up against West Germany! I also, unfortunately, equally remember the blooper by the Maltese goalkeeper, Ray Mifsud, that gifted the Germans an equaliser. I had an ongoing 20 year argument with a friend of mine about who the Maltese goalkeeper was that day, the regular, John Bonello, or the number 2, Mifsud. We haven't spoken about it in while but 31 and a half years later I can confirm it was Mifsud.
At 1-2 and about 5 minutes to go it was a great result. A third German goal made it a little disappointing but still it was a fun day to be at the stadium. Then, with a couple of minutes to go, Ray Xuereb scored again. Cue delirium in the stands once more (and there were people standing at every vantage point, in and outside the stadium). In the excitement, I don't remember much beyond the goal. But if you watch the video, look how Xuereb, or it could have been the other legend, Raymond "il-Mundu" Vella, grabbed the ball out of the net and ran back towards the centre circle as in to say to his team mates, "C'mon, let's get this going. We can get another one". But before he made it back to the centre he kicked the ball up to the heavens and far away. Quick change in his thinking, I guess: "2-3 is fantastic, don't let the Germans have the ball. We only have one and somebody from the stands might be on their way back to Valletta with it already".
Nowadays a loss is a loss and only when we actually score more goals than our opponents is it a win. And that's the way it should be. But, oh boy, were "victories" like this one in 1984 ever fun.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RLqkssy5Qg
Friday 26 February 2016
And at the end of the day....
Day -838. WorldCup2018.
Phew. It's over. Today was exhilaratingly exhausting, keeping up with Fifa election news in between attempting to get a normal day's work done. It's also been a few days of scouring news reports in an attempt to get a quasi accurate estimation of how the voting would go. And after the news that the new president wasn't Sheik Salman sunk in, the relief turned to a bit of a so-what-happens-now anti-climax. Apart from the jokes about Gianni Infantino not only being Swiss like Sepp Blatter but from the neighbouring town, there is a feeling amongst those in the know that Infantino knew how to win an election by giving the electorate what they wanted, more money, which is what the old Fifa did. Infantino has promised each national association $5m over 5 years. And this when the Fifa accounts to be presented at the next Fifa Congress in May will show a loss despite Fifa's massive revenues from sponsors and television. At today's Congress the acting secretary general, Markus Kattner, revealed that the Fifa crisis over the last year has cost Fifa $550m. But right now we have to wait and see what the presidency of Infantino will bring. More importantly, it will be interesting and important to see the effects of the reforms package that was approved today. More of that to come over the next few weeks and months.
But this is not what I planned entry number -838 to be about. After my attempts in the last week or so to find out if there was a story behind the Maltese FA and Prince Ali friendship, and the expectations of today had subsided and conversations had been had, I came to a couple of realisations. Despite my probing I do believe that the relationship between the MFA president, Norman Darmanin Demajo and Prince Ali is a friendship of respect. The MFA backed Prince Ali in last year's election and saw no reason to not be loyal to that support this time around. That friendly match in Turkey will always remain as an odd event in my head but maybe it was just that: an odd gesture of appreciation from Prince Ali. The MFA, and Maltese football went through some testing times under it's previous administration, including the alleged "bribe" paid to the former president by the 2006 German World Cup bid team. The public war between the current and former president tarnished Maltese football. With Daramanin Demajo there is more talk of what's happening on the pitches around Malta than suspicions of where development money from UEFA is ending up.
The other thought I had today is that I probably should explain or justify my continuous reference to Maltese football. It's a small island with, to be honest, a league of not hugely competitive or high entertainment value. The national team is beginning to move on from celebrating a 1-0 defeat as a victory, but it is still an achievement to get more than a couple of points in a World Cup or Euros qualifying campaign. So why do I do keep coming back to it? I feel like one of those English football supporters, the kind you read about in a magazine like "When Saturday Comes", who supports their local, non-league team. Your friends go off and support the Manchester United and Juventus' of the world but you remain loyal to the team you inherited as a supporter from your father, who took you to the rickety old stadium and you were in awe of these football players who you would then see picking up their newspaper in the local newsagent's like anybody else. It's like watching amateur sport where players are playing simply to win and for nothing else. And you know the players, you played football with them at lunchtime at school, you played tennis with them when they were younger (true story, 3 I can think of) and you drank beers with them.
Is this a romantic view that doesn't exist anymore, even in Malta? With more overseas players playing there now who need a financial incentive and with clubs being more professionally run, maybe it is. But it is still local. While the joke, or reality, is that Manchester United have more supporters in London than Manchester in Malta every football fan has team in Italy or England that many are fanatical about. And, yes, I have a team in England that I follow quite religiously and who are causing me no little amount of heartache this season but in my years before leaving Malta I quite happily reminded my friends that if Sliema Wanderers of Sliema, Malta were playing in a league deciding final match of the season on the same day as the biggest match of the season in England I would be at the Ta' Qali stadium in Malta quietly enjoying the much lower quality football.
And the same goes for the national team. On a midweek evening in April 1985 I was at Ta' Qali stadium to watch Malta beat Jordan 3-1 in a rather meaningless friendly. But it was exciting, it was a win. Myself and the other two or three hundred spectators didn't differentiate between a friendly or a competitive match: it was a win and we don't get many of those.
Yes, now it's changed. There were days when the stadium was full for an end of season match, in the days before the official capacity was known, or if was it wasn't monitored. With the saturation of live football on television there is even more reason for the locals to stay home. "Ha!", they say, "who wants to watch that rubbish at Ta' Qali when I can sit at home and watch United-Liverpool". Me, I would love to go on that 30-35 minute walk from our house to the stadium, sit in the near empty stands, listen to the players shouting at each other and hear the coach barking instructions from the other side of the pitch and be entertained by the supporters occasionally breaking into song, a song either borrowed from what they hear on Italian or English TV or an old fashioned village marching band special.
It's entertainment of a different value. And that's why I will look forward to the World Cup in 2018 to see football at it's best but I will always be like Jim, from Essex, in a story in "When Saturday Comes" supporting Grays Athletic on a cold February evening and loving every minute of it.
(On a maybe contradictory ending note, but at the same time unsurprising aside to the above entry given the reasons for me keeping this up for 1000 days, I would hardly be opposed to being in Russia in 838 days, not because I have a burning ambition to visit Russia per se, but it is the World Cup. I'm sure Jim from Essex wouldn't mind either).
Phew. It's over. Today was exhilaratingly exhausting, keeping up with Fifa election news in between attempting to get a normal day's work done. It's also been a few days of scouring news reports in an attempt to get a quasi accurate estimation of how the voting would go. And after the news that the new president wasn't Sheik Salman sunk in, the relief turned to a bit of a so-what-happens-now anti-climax. Apart from the jokes about Gianni Infantino not only being Swiss like Sepp Blatter but from the neighbouring town, there is a feeling amongst those in the know that Infantino knew how to win an election by giving the electorate what they wanted, more money, which is what the old Fifa did. Infantino has promised each national association $5m over 5 years. And this when the Fifa accounts to be presented at the next Fifa Congress in May will show a loss despite Fifa's massive revenues from sponsors and television. At today's Congress the acting secretary general, Markus Kattner, revealed that the Fifa crisis over the last year has cost Fifa $550m. But right now we have to wait and see what the presidency of Infantino will bring. More importantly, it will be interesting and important to see the effects of the reforms package that was approved today. More of that to come over the next few weeks and months.
But this is not what I planned entry number -838 to be about. After my attempts in the last week or so to find out if there was a story behind the Maltese FA and Prince Ali friendship, and the expectations of today had subsided and conversations had been had, I came to a couple of realisations. Despite my probing I do believe that the relationship between the MFA president, Norman Darmanin Demajo and Prince Ali is a friendship of respect. The MFA backed Prince Ali in last year's election and saw no reason to not be loyal to that support this time around. That friendly match in Turkey will always remain as an odd event in my head but maybe it was just that: an odd gesture of appreciation from Prince Ali. The MFA, and Maltese football went through some testing times under it's previous administration, including the alleged "bribe" paid to the former president by the 2006 German World Cup bid team. The public war between the current and former president tarnished Maltese football. With Daramanin Demajo there is more talk of what's happening on the pitches around Malta than suspicions of where development money from UEFA is ending up.
The other thought I had today is that I probably should explain or justify my continuous reference to Maltese football. It's a small island with, to be honest, a league of not hugely competitive or high entertainment value. The national team is beginning to move on from celebrating a 1-0 defeat as a victory, but it is still an achievement to get more than a couple of points in a World Cup or Euros qualifying campaign. So why do I do keep coming back to it? I feel like one of those English football supporters, the kind you read about in a magazine like "When Saturday Comes", who supports their local, non-league team. Your friends go off and support the Manchester United and Juventus' of the world but you remain loyal to the team you inherited as a supporter from your father, who took you to the rickety old stadium and you were in awe of these football players who you would then see picking up their newspaper in the local newsagent's like anybody else. It's like watching amateur sport where players are playing simply to win and for nothing else. And you know the players, you played football with them at lunchtime at school, you played tennis with them when they were younger (true story, 3 I can think of) and you drank beers with them.
Is this a romantic view that doesn't exist anymore, even in Malta? With more overseas players playing there now who need a financial incentive and with clubs being more professionally run, maybe it is. But it is still local. While the joke, or reality, is that Manchester United have more supporters in London than Manchester in Malta every football fan has team in Italy or England that many are fanatical about. And, yes, I have a team in England that I follow quite religiously and who are causing me no little amount of heartache this season but in my years before leaving Malta I quite happily reminded my friends that if Sliema Wanderers of Sliema, Malta were playing in a league deciding final match of the season on the same day as the biggest match of the season in England I would be at the Ta' Qali stadium in Malta quietly enjoying the much lower quality football.
And the same goes for the national team. On a midweek evening in April 1985 I was at Ta' Qali stadium to watch Malta beat Jordan 3-1 in a rather meaningless friendly. But it was exciting, it was a win. Myself and the other two or three hundred spectators didn't differentiate between a friendly or a competitive match: it was a win and we don't get many of those.
Yes, now it's changed. There were days when the stadium was full for an end of season match, in the days before the official capacity was known, or if was it wasn't monitored. With the saturation of live football on television there is even more reason for the locals to stay home. "Ha!", they say, "who wants to watch that rubbish at Ta' Qali when I can sit at home and watch United-Liverpool". Me, I would love to go on that 30-35 minute walk from our house to the stadium, sit in the near empty stands, listen to the players shouting at each other and hear the coach barking instructions from the other side of the pitch and be entertained by the supporters occasionally breaking into song, a song either borrowed from what they hear on Italian or English TV or an old fashioned village marching band special.
It's entertainment of a different value. And that's why I will look forward to the World Cup in 2018 to see football at it's best but I will always be like Jim, from Essex, in a story in "When Saturday Comes" supporting Grays Athletic on a cold February evening and loving every minute of it.
(On a maybe contradictory ending note, but at the same time unsurprising aside to the above entry given the reasons for me keeping this up for 1000 days, I would hardly be opposed to being in Russia in 838 days, not because I have a burning ambition to visit Russia per se, but it is the World Cup. I'm sure Jim from Essex wouldn't mind either).
Thursday 25 February 2016
'Twas the night before the Congress.....
Day -839. WorldCup2018
I'd like to think that it was due to my question to Canada Soccer that the President, Victor Montagliani, announced this evening that the Canada Soccer will be voting for Gianni Infantino in tomorrow's Fifa election. Of course it was. It is more likely that they gave up on waiting for an official endorsement of a candidate from CONCACAF. The CONCACAF executive was due to meet in Zurich on Thursday evening to discuss endorsing a candidate. With no news forthcoming, and with some countries in the region already annoucing their intentions, it looks like all the CONCACAF countries are free to vote independently. This is where this election could be won or lost, unless Africa does split into a large voting bloc for Infantino as he maintains is going to happen.
More realistically than Canada Soccer being influenced by my question, yet with the same lack of hope, is my wish that the Maltese FA are bluffing and are not really voting for Prince Ali. I fear a wasted vote. The huge majority of UEFA associations are voting for Infantino (43 out of 53 confirmed by my count) and Malta, out of loyalty, close friendship or some other questionable reason say they are sticking with Prince Ali. This election is going to be very close and if the controversial Sheikh Salman wins by one vote I may have to renounce my Maltese citizenship. Seeing as I don't hold citizenship of any other country then I will probably have to prepare myself to be one of those people living in limbo in an airport for a while, eating airport food, sleeping on airport chairs and befriending the night cleaning crews. All because the MFA couldnt get over themselves, stick with their European family and put an X by Gianni Infantino's name.
I have not missed that this evening the U.S Soccer Federation also announced that they will be voting for Prince Ali. Their reasons may be similar to those of the MFA. However, I have full faith in the Americans voting for Infantino in the expected second round when Prince Ali is eliminated. It would be inconceivable that they could vote for the Sheikh with his questionable background as part of the ruling family of a country with a questionable understanding of democracy and human rights. Malta? I'm not so sure what they might do in the second round. Prince Ali and Sheikh Salman are rivals within the Asian confederation but if the MFA go against the common UEFA vote in the first round why would they become European in the second round?
If the majority of Africa stick with the Sheikh, then apart from the CONCACAF factor, the Prince Ali factor will be huge in the second round. It is unlikely that there will be a two-thirds majority in the first round, so where will all Prince Ali's votes go? Even if CONCACAF all go with Infantino with Sheikh Salman's backing in Asia and Africa it may come down to that one MFA vote. No pressure there, Mr. MFA President. Oceania may save you anyway.
(As a note of interest all of the above may be a moot point if the delegates at tomorrow's Fifa Congress don't approve the proposed reforms to be presented before the election. New president with no change? They might as well bring Blatter back. As much as I go on about the election it is the package of reforms that needs to be implemented more than a new face).
I'd like to think that it was due to my question to Canada Soccer that the President, Victor Montagliani, announced this evening that the Canada Soccer will be voting for Gianni Infantino in tomorrow's Fifa election. Of course it was. It is more likely that they gave up on waiting for an official endorsement of a candidate from CONCACAF. The CONCACAF executive was due to meet in Zurich on Thursday evening to discuss endorsing a candidate. With no news forthcoming, and with some countries in the region already annoucing their intentions, it looks like all the CONCACAF countries are free to vote independently. This is where this election could be won or lost, unless Africa does split into a large voting bloc for Infantino as he maintains is going to happen.
More realistically than Canada Soccer being influenced by my question, yet with the same lack of hope, is my wish that the Maltese FA are bluffing and are not really voting for Prince Ali. I fear a wasted vote. The huge majority of UEFA associations are voting for Infantino (43 out of 53 confirmed by my count) and Malta, out of loyalty, close friendship or some other questionable reason say they are sticking with Prince Ali. This election is going to be very close and if the controversial Sheikh Salman wins by one vote I may have to renounce my Maltese citizenship. Seeing as I don't hold citizenship of any other country then I will probably have to prepare myself to be one of those people living in limbo in an airport for a while, eating airport food, sleeping on airport chairs and befriending the night cleaning crews. All because the MFA couldnt get over themselves, stick with their European family and put an X by Gianni Infantino's name.
I have not missed that this evening the U.S Soccer Federation also announced that they will be voting for Prince Ali. Their reasons may be similar to those of the MFA. However, I have full faith in the Americans voting for Infantino in the expected second round when Prince Ali is eliminated. It would be inconceivable that they could vote for the Sheikh with his questionable background as part of the ruling family of a country with a questionable understanding of democracy and human rights. Malta? I'm not so sure what they might do in the second round. Prince Ali and Sheikh Salman are rivals within the Asian confederation but if the MFA go against the common UEFA vote in the first round why would they become European in the second round?
If the majority of Africa stick with the Sheikh, then apart from the CONCACAF factor, the Prince Ali factor will be huge in the second round. It is unlikely that there will be a two-thirds majority in the first round, so where will all Prince Ali's votes go? Even if CONCACAF all go with Infantino with Sheikh Salman's backing in Asia and Africa it may come down to that one MFA vote. No pressure there, Mr. MFA President. Oceania may save you anyway.
(As a note of interest all of the above may be a moot point if the delegates at tomorrow's Fifa Congress don't approve the proposed reforms to be presented before the election. New president with no change? They might as well bring Blatter back. As much as I go on about the election it is the package of reforms that needs to be implemented more than a new face).
Wednesday 24 February 2016
Party at the Hallenstadion!
Day -840. WorldCup2018
This is going to be one incredible weekend at the Hallenstadion, the multi-purpose arena in Zurich. On Friday, football officials will pack the venue for Fifa's Extraordinary Congress culminating in the election of a new president. It could be a long day, but even though the vote itself is a slow process and it may require a second round it will not be able to go into sudden death overtime, play until there's a winner, like National Hockey League hockey in North America. If it's not over by midnight the building maintenance crew will be kicking them out as they have to lay an ice hockey surface for the ZSC Lions home match the next day.
It might be a good idea to look out for a number of suits in the crowd on Saturday. Some of the Fifa officials from the non-winter sports countries (most of them?) might have snagged some tickets for a bit of enjoyment of the local culture. However, they may stand out a little bit in this crowd. Or maybe not. It's more football than NHL hockey crowd.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9sV7z-M_Q0&list=PL60CFjRsDwVvcemOcnUu-spMtZOSKopfw&index=12
If the politicians (and you know I mean football officials) want to stick around for the full weekend to let off some steam after a full Friday listening to talk of reform and the such, they could get on to Ticketmaster, or the local Fifa fixer, and get themselves some tickets for Ellie Goulding, performing at the Hallenstadion on Sunday. And if they really want to celebrate not being arrested on behalf of the U.S. Attorney General in their hotel room at dawn on Friday (there are rumours that this shouldn't come as a surprise), they could stay in Zurich for to mark the the leap year day by dancing along to the German techno/trance band Scooter. This is part of their "Can't Stop the Hardcore" tour which in ways that I can't fully put my finger on seems appropriate for the Fifa crowd. No matter what happens in Friday's election, the hard core at Fifa, despite all the promises, will probably not be shaken to the foundations of it's marble walled, deep underground, basement bunker.
This is going to be one incredible weekend at the Hallenstadion, the multi-purpose arena in Zurich. On Friday, football officials will pack the venue for Fifa's Extraordinary Congress culminating in the election of a new president. It could be a long day, but even though the vote itself is a slow process and it may require a second round it will not be able to go into sudden death overtime, play until there's a winner, like National Hockey League hockey in North America. If it's not over by midnight the building maintenance crew will be kicking them out as they have to lay an ice hockey surface for the ZSC Lions home match the next day.
It might be a good idea to look out for a number of suits in the crowd on Saturday. Some of the Fifa officials from the non-winter sports countries (most of them?) might have snagged some tickets for a bit of enjoyment of the local culture. However, they may stand out a little bit in this crowd. Or maybe not. It's more football than NHL hockey crowd.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9sV7z-M_Q0&list=PL60CFjRsDwVvcemOcnUu-spMtZOSKopfw&index=12
If the politicians (and you know I mean football officials) want to stick around for the full weekend to let off some steam after a full Friday listening to talk of reform and the such, they could get on to Ticketmaster, or the local Fifa fixer, and get themselves some tickets for Ellie Goulding, performing at the Hallenstadion on Sunday. And if they really want to celebrate not being arrested on behalf of the U.S. Attorney General in their hotel room at dawn on Friday (there are rumours that this shouldn't come as a surprise), they could stay in Zurich for to mark the the leap year day by dancing along to the German techno/trance band Scooter. This is part of their "Can't Stop the Hardcore" tour which in ways that I can't fully put my finger on seems appropriate for the Fifa crowd. No matter what happens in Friday's election, the hard core at Fifa, despite all the promises, will probably not be shaken to the foundations of it's marble walled, deep underground, basement bunker.
Tuesday 23 February 2016
Almost there: election countdown
Day -841. WorldCup2018.
This build up to the Fifa election is tiring business. Trying to keep track of who might be voting for who and predicting the scenarios is pretty exhausting. And it really does feel like a political election. No, I'm not surprised but the similarities are striking.
Gianni Infantino was in South Africa yesterday and when he announced that he believes that more than half of the Africans associations are going to vote for him, Tokyo Sexwale was sitting next to him. Sexwale has given up on his chances of winning many, if any, votes on Friday. His own country won't vote for him. So now he's popping up next to the favourite and is talking alliances. Sexwale invited all the candidates to South Africa but the other three were too busy. So Sexwale had Infantino's full attention and talked about the reality of necessary deals with his opponents. Is Sexwale offering to sway some voters if it goes to a second round in return for a good position within Fifa?
Then we have Infantino and Sheoikh Salman talking about how much they respect each other. The Sheikh said something on the lines of Infantino being a great guy who I like but some of his ideas don't make financial sense. And the Sheikh is talking about deficits, the magic word that every politician uses in the run up to an election, without most of the electorate knowing what it means. We hope that the 209 presidents of their national associations understand deficits, but nonetheless it still has the feeling of a scare tactic by the Sheikh.
And to top it all off, to give the whole thing the feeling of an election in a country of questionable democracy we have the candidate acting the part of the sore loser before he's actually lost. Prince Ali was once upon a time the favourite to win. It didn't last long. It was soon after the election last May where he was Sepp Blatter's only opponent. Four days later, when Blatter stepped down, Prince Ali became the favourite because there was no one else. Then Michel Platini stepped in because he couldn't stand what Blatter had done to football's image. And then Platini was suspended over the "disloyal payment" and Prince Ali became the favourite again. But Sheik Salman doesn't like the Prince so he became a candidate to stop the Prince winning. And as president of the Asian Football Confederation, Sheikh Salman had the backing of the Asians and now he was the favourite. Then UEFA needed an alternate candidate to replace Platini. In steps Infantino and eventually he takes away all Prince Ali's European votes. And now the Prince is annoyed. He knows the games is up. So first he complains that the Africans and Asians have colluded (they did sign a development agreement) and have engineered a bloc vote in favour of the Sheikh. Today he took his complaint to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) because Fifa vetoed his request to have transparent voting boxes. And the good Prince even offered to supply all the boxes. He has asked CAS to suspend the vote until they make a decision. Donald Trump? What? He can't really compete with this lot for entertainment.
So roll on Friday. Plan your day, but plan to not know what time the election will take place at. It's part of the Fifa Extraordinary Congress. Delegates will start arriving at 9am (Zurich time) and the election is item number 11, of 12, on the agenda. It is forecast that voting will start at 2pm, but it is an old fashioned vote where all of the 209 (or 207) delegates have to pop their vote in a box, which may or may not be Prince Ali's transparent boxes. None of that press-a-button in your seat style election for Fifa. And if the magic number (139, or 138 if 207 voters are voting (see yesterday)) is not attained by any candidate they will do it all again in a second round, but not without a break for some vital, "who do we vote for now" questions amongst the Prince Ali supporters. Happily, the Sheikh and Infantino will have some kind members of their "team" assist the undecided in making a decision. And by the late afternoon we may have a new president. Unlike the white smoke from the chimney announcing the new Pope, the new president will be announced on stage by the most senior Fifa official, which may mean they might have to go quite far down the organisation list to find someone without the word "fired" by his name. It's going to be quite the day.
This build up to the Fifa election is tiring business. Trying to keep track of who might be voting for who and predicting the scenarios is pretty exhausting. And it really does feel like a political election. No, I'm not surprised but the similarities are striking.
Gianni Infantino was in South Africa yesterday and when he announced that he believes that more than half of the Africans associations are going to vote for him, Tokyo Sexwale was sitting next to him. Sexwale has given up on his chances of winning many, if any, votes on Friday. His own country won't vote for him. So now he's popping up next to the favourite and is talking alliances. Sexwale invited all the candidates to South Africa but the other three were too busy. So Sexwale had Infantino's full attention and talked about the reality of necessary deals with his opponents. Is Sexwale offering to sway some voters if it goes to a second round in return for a good position within Fifa?
Then we have Infantino and Sheoikh Salman talking about how much they respect each other. The Sheikh said something on the lines of Infantino being a great guy who I like but some of his ideas don't make financial sense. And the Sheikh is talking about deficits, the magic word that every politician uses in the run up to an election, without most of the electorate knowing what it means. We hope that the 209 presidents of their national associations understand deficits, but nonetheless it still has the feeling of a scare tactic by the Sheikh.
And to top it all off, to give the whole thing the feeling of an election in a country of questionable democracy we have the candidate acting the part of the sore loser before he's actually lost. Prince Ali was once upon a time the favourite to win. It didn't last long. It was soon after the election last May where he was Sepp Blatter's only opponent. Four days later, when Blatter stepped down, Prince Ali became the favourite because there was no one else. Then Michel Platini stepped in because he couldn't stand what Blatter had done to football's image. And then Platini was suspended over the "disloyal payment" and Prince Ali became the favourite again. But Sheik Salman doesn't like the Prince so he became a candidate to stop the Prince winning. And as president of the Asian Football Confederation, Sheikh Salman had the backing of the Asians and now he was the favourite. Then UEFA needed an alternate candidate to replace Platini. In steps Infantino and eventually he takes away all Prince Ali's European votes. And now the Prince is annoyed. He knows the games is up. So first he complains that the Africans and Asians have colluded (they did sign a development agreement) and have engineered a bloc vote in favour of the Sheikh. Today he took his complaint to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) because Fifa vetoed his request to have transparent voting boxes. And the good Prince even offered to supply all the boxes. He has asked CAS to suspend the vote until they make a decision. Donald Trump? What? He can't really compete with this lot for entertainment.
So roll on Friday. Plan your day, but plan to not know what time the election will take place at. It's part of the Fifa Extraordinary Congress. Delegates will start arriving at 9am (Zurich time) and the election is item number 11, of 12, on the agenda. It is forecast that voting will start at 2pm, but it is an old fashioned vote where all of the 209 (or 207) delegates have to pop their vote in a box, which may or may not be Prince Ali's transparent boxes. None of that press-a-button in your seat style election for Fifa. And if the magic number (139, or 138 if 207 voters are voting (see yesterday)) is not attained by any candidate they will do it all again in a second round, but not without a break for some vital, "who do we vote for now" questions amongst the Prince Ali supporters. Happily, the Sheikh and Infantino will have some kind members of their "team" assist the undecided in making a decision. And by the late afternoon we may have a new president. Unlike the white smoke from the chimney announcing the new Pope, the new president will be announced on stage by the most senior Fifa official, which may mean they might have to go quite far down the organisation list to find someone without the word "fired" by his name. It's going to be quite the day.
Monday 22 February 2016
UPDATED. Fifa election: the count so far
Day -842. WorldCup2018.
The big Fifa election is a few days away. In this post-Blatter era it is an open race, primarily between Gianni Infantino and Sheikh Salman al-Khalifa. As much as it looks like a straight race between the two, there is a third wheel and a big one. Prince Ali will in all probability win enough first round votes to prevent either of the two favourites from winning the required majority. The big question will be where Prince Ali's votes go in the second round. There are 209 member associations, but 207 may vote as Kuwait and Indonesia's suspension is going to be reviewed on the morning of the vote. With 207 votes, the magic number for a first round win is 138. In the second round the candidate with the most votes wins.
The easy way to look at the way the vote is to be divided is:
I scoured all the reports I could find about confirmed votes, official endorsements and possible votes and have come up with my own estimate, or a near confirmation of the New York Times' numbers. Please bear with me. And it comes with a warning. Be not surprised if some of these countries do not vote for whom they said they would. Last minute politics behind the scenes will go on right up until the last minute.
Infantino has the backing of most of Europe. The following countries have said they will vote for him:
Austria, Switzerland, Hungary, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Slovakia, Denmark, Spain, Portugal, Holland, Ukraine, England, Italy, Greece, Serbia, Croatia, Belarus, Bosnia, Slovenia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Armenia, Albania, Germany, Bulgaria, Russia, Cyprus, Romania, Turkey, Iceland, Czech Republic, France, Luxembourg, Moldova, Faroe Islands, Luxembourg, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Iceland, San Marino. That leaves 10 European countries that either haven't decided, haven't made it public or are not voting for Infantino.
The one 'no' for Infantino we know for sure is Malta, who's FA president confirmed to me will be voting for Prince Ali. This puts Malta in a very interesting position with their European counterparts. Is their loyalty to the Prince so strong that they will happily be a minority amongst their fellow UEFA associations? Or is it more than that?
http://dinoworldcup.blogspot.ca/2016/02/malta-jordan-and-prince-aliagain.html
http://dinoworldcup.blogspot.ca/2016/02/exclusive-from-maltese-fa.html
CONCACAF announced that they will not endorse one candidate until Thursday. However, Infantino maintains he has the backing of the majority of the region, and some countries have already declared support for him, namely, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, Guatemala, Belize, Nicaragua, Barbados, Suriname and Grenada. The U.S. have not made their decision public, but as the New York Times reports it is definitely either Infantino or Prince Ali, and it is inconceivable that their second round vote would go to Sheikh Salman. Canada have been very quiet. I have asked Soccer Canada whether they have decided or if they will go along with the CONCACAF endorsement. I await a reply. (UPDATE: Soccer Canada replied: "we cannot speak to how our President will vote in the upcoming election").
CONMEBOL have endorsed Infantino, a guaranteed 10 votes if all the countries go along with the endorsement. Oceania have not endorsed one candidate and there is little evidence of who they may vote for. One African country, South Sudan, says they are voting for Infantino.
In total that's 64 estimated votes for Infantino.
Sheikh Salman believes he has the backing of Asia and Africa, which would give him 99 votes (take out South Sudan). However, the President of the Liberian FA, Musa Bility, has said that he knows of 26 African countries that won't vote for the Sheikh. Also, Liberia will vote for Prince Ali, as will Egypt. Also, in Asia, Iraq and Jordan have declared support for Prince Ali. And there are reports that the 13 countries of the West Asian Football Federation will vote for Prince Ali, as he helped set up the federation.
Along with Malta's vote that could be at least 18 votes for Prince Ali. More importantly that brings Sheikh Salman's total down to 81. But there is a lot of uncertainty here. More African countries may vote for Prince Ali. Australia (in Asia for Fifa) is said to be uncomfortable voting for the Sheikh but also they don't want to upset their fellow Asian countries. To add to the intrigue Infantino announced today that he has the support of the "majority of the African voters". If that is true then it is likely that he will be the winner. If that is just pre-election influencing of the electorate, then it may come down to CONCACAF and Oceania.
I believe, and I will make this prediction, that the rest of the European countries will vote for Infantino. And if CONCACAF and Oceania vote for Prince Ali, I also believe that the majority of them will not be able to bring themselves to vote for Sheikh Salman.
I am confident of an Infantino win. As I have said many times before he does not necessarily represent a new Fifa. But if these are the candidates presented, and they all have connections with the old Fifa, then I believe he is the best man.
The big Fifa election is a few days away. In this post-Blatter era it is an open race, primarily between Gianni Infantino and Sheikh Salman al-Khalifa. As much as it looks like a straight race between the two, there is a third wheel and a big one. Prince Ali will in all probability win enough first round votes to prevent either of the two favourites from winning the required majority. The big question will be where Prince Ali's votes go in the second round. There are 209 member associations, but 207 may vote as Kuwait and Indonesia's suspension is going to be reviewed on the morning of the vote. With 207 votes, the magic number for a first round win is 138. In the second round the candidate with the most votes wins.
The easy way to look at the way the vote is to be divided is:
- Africa (CAF, 54 votes) and Asia (AFC, 46 votes) will vote for Sheikh Salman
- Europe (UEFA, 53 votes) will vote for Infantino
- South America (CONMEBOL, 10 votes) have endorsed Infantino
- North, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF) and Oceania (11 votes) are undecided
I scoured all the reports I could find about confirmed votes, official endorsements and possible votes and have come up with my own estimate, or a near confirmation of the New York Times' numbers. Please bear with me. And it comes with a warning. Be not surprised if some of these countries do not vote for whom they said they would. Last minute politics behind the scenes will go on right up until the last minute.
Infantino has the backing of most of Europe. The following countries have said they will vote for him:
Austria, Switzerland, Hungary, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Slovakia, Denmark, Spain, Portugal, Holland, Ukraine, England, Italy, Greece, Serbia, Croatia, Belarus, Bosnia, Slovenia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Armenia, Albania, Germany, Bulgaria, Russia, Cyprus, Romania, Turkey, Iceland, Czech Republic, France, Luxembourg, Moldova, Faroe Islands, Luxembourg, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Iceland, San Marino. That leaves 10 European countries that either haven't decided, haven't made it public or are not voting for Infantino.
The one 'no' for Infantino we know for sure is Malta, who's FA president confirmed to me will be voting for Prince Ali. This puts Malta in a very interesting position with their European counterparts. Is their loyalty to the Prince so strong that they will happily be a minority amongst their fellow UEFA associations? Or is it more than that?
http://dinoworldcup.blogspot.ca/2016/02/malta-jordan-and-prince-aliagain.html
http://dinoworldcup.blogspot.ca/2016/02/exclusive-from-maltese-fa.html
CONCACAF announced that they will not endorse one candidate until Thursday. However, Infantino maintains he has the backing of the majority of the region, and some countries have already declared support for him, namely, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, Guatemala, Belize, Nicaragua, Barbados, Suriname and Grenada. The U.S. have not made their decision public, but as the New York Times reports it is definitely either Infantino or Prince Ali, and it is inconceivable that their second round vote would go to Sheikh Salman. Canada have been very quiet. I have asked Soccer Canada whether they have decided or if they will go along with the CONCACAF endorsement. I await a reply. (UPDATE: Soccer Canada replied: "we cannot speak to how our President will vote in the upcoming election").
CONMEBOL have endorsed Infantino, a guaranteed 10 votes if all the countries go along with the endorsement. Oceania have not endorsed one candidate and there is little evidence of who they may vote for. One African country, South Sudan, says they are voting for Infantino.
In total that's 64 estimated votes for Infantino.
Sheikh Salman believes he has the backing of Asia and Africa, which would give him 99 votes (take out South Sudan). However, the President of the Liberian FA, Musa Bility, has said that he knows of 26 African countries that won't vote for the Sheikh. Also, Liberia will vote for Prince Ali, as will Egypt. Also, in Asia, Iraq and Jordan have declared support for Prince Ali. And there are reports that the 13 countries of the West Asian Football Federation will vote for Prince Ali, as he helped set up the federation.
Along with Malta's vote that could be at least 18 votes for Prince Ali. More importantly that brings Sheikh Salman's total down to 81. But there is a lot of uncertainty here. More African countries may vote for Prince Ali. Australia (in Asia for Fifa) is said to be uncomfortable voting for the Sheikh but also they don't want to upset their fellow Asian countries. To add to the intrigue Infantino announced today that he has the support of the "majority of the African voters". If that is true then it is likely that he will be the winner. If that is just pre-election influencing of the electorate, then it may come down to CONCACAF and Oceania.
I believe, and I will make this prediction, that the rest of the European countries will vote for Infantino. And if CONCACAF and Oceania vote for Prince Ali, I also believe that the majority of them will not be able to bring themselves to vote for Sheikh Salman.
I am confident of an Infantino win. As I have said many times before he does not necessarily represent a new Fifa. But if these are the candidates presented, and they all have connections with the old Fifa, then I believe he is the best man.
Sunday 21 February 2016
The Sunday before February 26th.
Day -843. WorldCup2018
Sunday funnies and Sunday memories. Tomorrow I get back to my attempts to have an exit poll of sorts for Friday's big Fifa election. There are 209 Fifa member associations and the majority of them enjoy the secrecy of not giving away who they may vote for. They may also be waiting to see what may come their way, depending on who they promise to vote for.
(At the moment there are 207 voting members, as Kuwait and Indonesia are still serving Fifa suspensions for government interference in the running of their national associations, but these suspensions are going to be reviewed on the day of the election).
So before all that happens here's a look back at happy World Cup times. This was World Cup '94, Brazil-Holland in the quarter finals. The first half was, as I remember, not very memorable. The second half was exactly what was expected from a match between 2 entertaining teams, always favourites to win the World Cup. Bebeto, Romario, Bergkamp, 5 goals in the second half and a Branco special to win it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpIam1hf09Q
Sunday funnies and Sunday memories. Tomorrow I get back to my attempts to have an exit poll of sorts for Friday's big Fifa election. There are 209 Fifa member associations and the majority of them enjoy the secrecy of not giving away who they may vote for. They may also be waiting to see what may come their way, depending on who they promise to vote for.
(At the moment there are 207 voting members, as Kuwait and Indonesia are still serving Fifa suspensions for government interference in the running of their national associations, but these suspensions are going to be reviewed on the day of the election).
So before all that happens here's a look back at happy World Cup times. This was World Cup '94, Brazil-Holland in the quarter finals. The first half was, as I remember, not very memorable. The second half was exactly what was expected from a match between 2 entertaining teams, always favourites to win the World Cup. Bebeto, Romario, Bergkamp, 5 goals in the second half and a Branco special to win it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpIam1hf09Q
Saturday 20 February 2016
Countdown within the countdown.
Day -844. WorldCup2018.
This may be a World Cup countdown but there really is only one thing in the news these days- the Fifa presidential election, next Friday, February 26th. I am going to do my best to get an answer out of a few national football associations as to who they are going to vote for. Some have announced it publicly already and we will assume that they will keep their word.
I will see what a few friendly emails from a guy writing a blog can do. Playing the "who will reply" game could be a bit of fun.
This may be a World Cup countdown but there really is only one thing in the news these days- the Fifa presidential election, next Friday, February 26th. I am going to do my best to get an answer out of a few national football associations as to who they are going to vote for. Some have announced it publicly already and we will assume that they will keep their word.
I will see what a few friendly emails from a guy writing a blog can do. Playing the "who will reply" game could be a bit of fun.
Friday 19 February 2016
One week to go......
Day -845. WorldCup2018.
One week today Fifa will have a new president and we can only hope that football will have a new, positive direction. We can hope.
Unlike the last two or three elections where the outcome was a foregone conclusion, this election looks like a very close race. Gianni Infantino has a lot of support in Europe, but not from the whole of Europe. Sheikh Salman thinks he has the support of Asia and Africa, but while he may have the majority of the associations on his side there are a few who have publicly said they will not vote for him and rumours of a few others not being on his side. Prince Ali appears to be picking up the "other" votes in Europe, Asia and Africa. The South American countries say they are all voting for Infantino. But amongst the CONCACAF countries (North, Central American and the Caribbean) there doesn't seem to be a consensus. A group of 7 Central American countries have pledged their support for Infantino, but the CONCACAF Executive Committee has said they will not issue instructions to back one candidate.
This is where the election could be won or lost. The two biggest countries, the U.S. and Canada have not yet announced who their vote will go to. They were both firmly behind Prince Ali in last year’s election. However, when you read through the reports from last May it's more about them being opposed to Sepp Blatter. So without the unwanted one in this election will they still be supportive of Prince Ali. It must be either him or Infantino. It would be inconceivable that either country could vote for Sheikh Salman.
After getting an answer from the Maltese FA president I think I need to get an answer out of the Canadians and Americans. Watch this space.
One week today Fifa will have a new president and we can only hope that football will have a new, positive direction. We can hope.
Unlike the last two or three elections where the outcome was a foregone conclusion, this election looks like a very close race. Gianni Infantino has a lot of support in Europe, but not from the whole of Europe. Sheikh Salman thinks he has the support of Asia and Africa, but while he may have the majority of the associations on his side there are a few who have publicly said they will not vote for him and rumours of a few others not being on his side. Prince Ali appears to be picking up the "other" votes in Europe, Asia and Africa. The South American countries say they are all voting for Infantino. But amongst the CONCACAF countries (North, Central American and the Caribbean) there doesn't seem to be a consensus. A group of 7 Central American countries have pledged their support for Infantino, but the CONCACAF Executive Committee has said they will not issue instructions to back one candidate.
This is where the election could be won or lost. The two biggest countries, the U.S. and Canada have not yet announced who their vote will go to. They were both firmly behind Prince Ali in last year’s election. However, when you read through the reports from last May it's more about them being opposed to Sepp Blatter. So without the unwanted one in this election will they still be supportive of Prince Ali. It must be either him or Infantino. It would be inconceivable that either country could vote for Sheikh Salman.
After getting an answer from the Maltese FA president I think I need to get an answer out of the Canadians and Americans. Watch this space.
Thursday 18 February 2016
EXCLUSIVE: from the Maltese FA
Day -846. WorldCup2018
There had been unconfirmed reports that the Maltese FA had decided to vote for Prince Ali bin Hussein in the Fifa presidential election. Today I can confirm, straight from the MFA President, Norman Darmanin Demajo, that they will indeed vote for Prince Ali. You read it here first.
"The MFA will remain consistent with the values and principles that were shown during the FIFA Congress in May, 2015, and will be supporting Prince Ali bin Hussein, for the upcoming FIFA elections."
The MFA have been long time supporters of Prince Ali and voted for him in last year's election where he was the only candidate opposing Sepp Blatter. One has to admire the MFA for their consistency and loyalty, that they didn't jump ship to UEFA's candidate, Gianni Infantino.
While adding another confirmed vote to Prince Ali's total, it also adds to the intrigue of who the associations that vote for Prince Ali will vote for in the second round. If, as expected, Infantino and Sheikh Salman get the highest totals in the first round, but not a clear enough majority, where will Prince Ali's votes go? It's an impossible question to ask an association like the MFA, but it could be what decides this election.
There had been unconfirmed reports that the Maltese FA had decided to vote for Prince Ali bin Hussein in the Fifa presidential election. Today I can confirm, straight from the MFA President, Norman Darmanin Demajo, that they will indeed vote for Prince Ali. You read it here first.
"The MFA will remain consistent with the values and principles that were shown during the FIFA Congress in May, 2015, and will be supporting Prince Ali bin Hussein, for the upcoming FIFA elections."
The MFA have been long time supporters of Prince Ali and voted for him in last year's election where he was the only candidate opposing Sepp Blatter. One has to admire the MFA for their consistency and loyalty, that they didn't jump ship to UEFA's candidate, Gianni Infantino.
While adding another confirmed vote to Prince Ali's total, it also adds to the intrigue of who the associations that vote for Prince Ali will vote for in the second round. If, as expected, Infantino and Sheikh Salman get the highest totals in the first round, but not a clear enough majority, where will Prince Ali's votes go? It's an impossible question to ask an association like the MFA, but it could be what decides this election.
Wednesday 17 February 2016
Bits and bobs
Day -847. WorldCup2018
Maybe I've spent too much time over thinking the connction between the Maltese FA and Prince Ali, including that almost phantom friendly match between Malta and Jordan last November. It's now too late to come up with anything more constructive than expressing relief that the English FA has decided to vote for Gianni Infantino, and amusement at Dmitri Tarasov, a Lokomtiv Moscow player who removed his team jersey after a match in Turkey to reveal an undershirt with a message of support for his Great Leader, Vladimir Putin.
So one more vote for Infantino, which means one less for the Sheikh. I still believe that nobody with any previous connections to Fifa should stand for election, but I've lost that argument. So, as consolation, I'll take Infantino as the winner.
And poor Dmitri Tarasov. His support kind of backfired. His own team called his behaviour "unacceptable" and they are going probably going to be punished by UEFA for the un-allowed political statements at football matches. And if that wasn't enough his team supporters weren't very happy. One of them tweeted:
"Go and train, Dima! Never mind expressing support, play better".
And another one said:
"You would be better off using your tens of millions to support old Russian women who cannot afford firewood in a country filled with fuel."
I would say, "Happy now, Dima?", but I somehow I don't think he really cares. It's only what Putin thinks that he cares about.
Maybe I've spent too much time over thinking the connction between the Maltese FA and Prince Ali, including that almost phantom friendly match between Malta and Jordan last November. It's now too late to come up with anything more constructive than expressing relief that the English FA has decided to vote for Gianni Infantino, and amusement at Dmitri Tarasov, a Lokomtiv Moscow player who removed his team jersey after a match in Turkey to reveal an undershirt with a message of support for his Great Leader, Vladimir Putin.
So one more vote for Infantino, which means one less for the Sheikh. I still believe that nobody with any previous connections to Fifa should stand for election, but I've lost that argument. So, as consolation, I'll take Infantino as the winner.
And poor Dmitri Tarasov. His support kind of backfired. His own team called his behaviour "unacceptable" and they are going probably going to be punished by UEFA for the un-allowed political statements at football matches. And if that wasn't enough his team supporters weren't very happy. One of them tweeted:
"Go and train, Dima! Never mind expressing support, play better".
And another one said:
"You would be better off using your tens of millions to support old Russian women who cannot afford firewood in a country filled with fuel."
I would say, "Happy now, Dima?", but I somehow I don't think he really cares. It's only what Putin thinks that he cares about.
Tuesday 16 February 2016
Greg Dyke on Sheikh Salman
Day -848. WorldCup2018.
Today is another day when somebody else has said what I think. So, without any excuses I will use this story in The Guardian to be the voice of my thoughts.
Greg Dyke, is the Chairman of the English FA. If you don't read the whole thing this is part of what he had to say about the prospect of Sheikh Salman al-Khalifa winning the Fifa election.
"I think there is an issue about Bahrain. No one denies there were violations of human rights involving sportsmen and footballers that went on four years ago. No one denies that. The denial is over whether or not he was involved.
"The question is, does it matter whether or not he was involved, or is it the fact, can you have someone from Bahrain running world football, in charge of world football, given what happened there four years ago? I personally have my doubts."
And this is what Conservative MP Damian Collins had to say:
"He’s not been clear whether this committee met, what Sheikh Salman’s involvement was. He clearly did nothing to stand up for and protect the sports people and he doesn’t want to discuss it."
Collins also spoke about how the way the candidates are campaigning is too reminiscent of the old Fifa. Where is the new Fifa we were promised.
"He and the other candidates are going round the world in secret and in private with the associations trying to get their vote. He did this deal with the African Confederation [a memorandum of understanding with the Asian Confederation] before they endorsed him. Now was that linked to the election? What was promised? It was all done behind closed doors. For me this is very reminiscent of the way Fifa’s been run in the past."
http://www.theguardian.com/…/greg-dyke-doubts-sheikh-salman…
Today is another day when somebody else has said what I think. So, without any excuses I will use this story in The Guardian to be the voice of my thoughts.
Greg Dyke, is the Chairman of the English FA. If you don't read the whole thing this is part of what he had to say about the prospect of Sheikh Salman al-Khalifa winning the Fifa election.
"I think there is an issue about Bahrain. No one denies there were violations of human rights involving sportsmen and footballers that went on four years ago. No one denies that. The denial is over whether or not he was involved.
"The question is, does it matter whether or not he was involved, or is it the fact, can you have someone from Bahrain running world football, in charge of world football, given what happened there four years ago? I personally have my doubts."
And this is what Conservative MP Damian Collins had to say:
"He’s not been clear whether this committee met, what Sheikh Salman’s involvement was. He clearly did nothing to stand up for and protect the sports people and he doesn’t want to discuss it."
Collins also spoke about how the way the candidates are campaigning is too reminiscent of the old Fifa. Where is the new Fifa we were promised.
"He and the other candidates are going round the world in secret and in private with the associations trying to get their vote. He did this deal with the African Confederation [a memorandum of understanding with the Asian Confederation] before they endorsed him. Now was that linked to the election? What was promised? It was all done behind closed doors. For me this is very reminiscent of the way Fifa’s been run in the past."
http://www.theguardian.com/…/greg-dyke-doubts-sheikh-salman…
Monday 15 February 2016
Malta, Jordan and Prince Ali...again
Day -849. WorldCup2018
While I wait for an answer from the President and General Secretary of the Maltese FA to my questions about who the MFA will vote for to be the next Fifa president and, if it hasn't been decided yet, will a decision be made (and made public) before February 26th, I am compelled to go back to the friendly match that Malta played against Jordan last November in Turkey.
I have covered this before, but as the Fifa election approaches it may be more pertinent. It is very fair, and necessary, to say that it may be of no significance at all. But given the allegations about suspicious payments made to the MFA by the Germany 2006 World Cup bid team, the nature of this friendly was interesting.
Prince Ali bin al-Hussein, the Jordanian FA president and Fifa presidential candidate, has been very public about his warm relationship with the MFA and how it was because of President Normal Darmanin Demajo's support that he decided to stand as a candidate in last year's election against Sepp Blatter. The friendly match was a "thank-you" to the MFA. To the naked eye it was hardly the most opulent of thank-yous. The match was played in an empty stadium in Turkey. Whether there were no spectators for security or because there was absolutely no interest in this match was hard to ascertain. At least Darmanin Demajo got to sit in a fancy armchair, alongside Prince Ali. The video below shows not only the emptiness of the not very grand stadium, but also the questionable quality of the lights.
It is very simple to say that this was only a friendly between two minor teams in international football, and therefore the size of the stadium and the lack of a crowd is understandable. There was also very little interest in either country. The Times of Malta attempted to give it some importance in a half-hearted report, but did not have a journalist there. The Jordan Times had one sentence about the match.
Why couldn't they play in Malta? Maybe because the Maltese team and officials would then not have been treated to an overseas trip by Prince Ali. And why not Jordan? It could have been security. Whatever the reasons, there is definitely reason to question the timing of this friendly. Prince Ali has been non-stop campaigning for a while and it looks like he will need every vote he can get. It looks like he is third in the running behind Gianni Infantino and Sheikh Salman. While the latter two have the backing from many associations in certain continental confederations, Prince Ali is picking up support from individual countries. Malta nominated Prince Ali for the election and it has been reported that they are going to vote for him. However, there has not been an official confirmation. It is small countries like Malta, who's vote could be swayed by direct promises, who could end up making a difference in this election.
It is possible that there is no story here. Alternatively it could be an amusing one. Prince Ali promised Darmanin Demajo this friendly. Maybe it got to a point where the MFA thought that the Prince had forgotten about them. So Darmanin Demajo sent his good pal a polite email asking if the match was still on. The email was read by Prince Ali's assistant, who passed it on the Prince's campaign team. The head of the campaign team mentioned it to the Prince who rolled his eyes and said, "Oh no, him again? I hoped he had forgotten about it. Ok, what do we do? An unused stadium in Turkey? And somebody there owes us a favour? Perfect. And how about Turkish Airlines? We can pull a favour or two there, right? So write back to Darmanin Demajo and tell him we're on. We have a beautiful venue in Turkey and we will show him and the team the local sights. And make sure it sounds like the email is written by me. Oh.....one more thing. Can you find some fancy chairs somewhere in Turkey......you know the kind which someone will think is what I, a Prince, would sit in. And then we'll tell him they were specially made for the Royal house in Jordan. Good. Now what's the name of the St Lucia FA president?"
Sunday 14 February 2016
The beautiful Barcelona
Day -850. WorldCup2018.
Happy Sunday. And when you need football happiness there is nothing better than Barcelona at their very best, with their incredible front line of Messi, Suarez and Neymar, three players we hope will all be in Russia in 2018 and in this form. Sadly, World Cup never seems to offer this much entertainment. This is football at its' best. And as an added bonus you can watch with the unbeatable, for comedy and emotion, commentary of Ray Hudson. He is a legend of football commentary in North America.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OXApRdUdh7I
Happy Sunday. And when you need football happiness there is nothing better than Barcelona at their very best, with their incredible front line of Messi, Suarez and Neymar, three players we hope will all be in Russia in 2018 and in this form. Sadly, World Cup never seems to offer this much entertainment. This is football at its' best. And as an added bonus you can watch with the unbeatable, for comedy and emotion, commentary of Ray Hudson. He is a legend of football commentary in North America.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OXApRdUdh7I
Saturday 13 February 2016
We're due a post about Malta.
Day -851. WorldCup2018
One of those days when the brain doesn't have much going on. So it's time for a personal memory. On May 12th 1993 Malta won its' first ever World Cup qualifying match, 1-0 in Estonia. It was not the start of a rush of wins. We had to wait another 20 years for the next one, also away, in Armenia in 2013. That Estonia win feels so old fashioned and that makes it feel that more special. There was no Internet (not in people's homes anyway) and so it was the good old radio or sports news on TV that brought us the happy news. I'm looking forward to wins against England and Scotland in the 2018 qualifying campaign.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sMHsYy1Bdt4
One of those days when the brain doesn't have much going on. So it's time for a personal memory. On May 12th 1993 Malta won its' first ever World Cup qualifying match, 1-0 in Estonia. It was not the start of a rush of wins. We had to wait another 20 years for the next one, also away, in Armenia in 2013. That Estonia win feels so old fashioned and that makes it feel that more special. There was no Internet (not in people's homes anyway) and so it was the good old radio or sports news on TV that brought us the happy news. I'm looking forward to wins against England and Scotland in the 2018 qualifying campaign.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sMHsYy1Bdt4
Friday 12 February 2016
Another one gone....
Day -852. WorldCup2018.
Two weeks to go until the new Fifa president is elected and today another former Fifa big shot was sent packing. Jerome Valcke, former secretary general was banned from all football activity for 12 years. Almost seems like old news, repeated, now. Blatter, Platini, and a bunch of Fifa Executive Committee members banned or suspended, the only excitement is finding out what the reasons were.
Valcke's primary crime was being involved with a sports marketing firm and helping them, and himself, gain financially through the sale of World Cup tickets. But during the course of the investigations other misdemeanours came to light. The most entertaining, and that which fits into the model of the stereotypical sport executive that most of us believe is true of anybody in a position like this, was that he used private jets for sightseeing purposes and chose to fly on private jets rather than commercial flights. All of this was done at Fifa's expense.
Of course the obvious question is how did he get away with this at the time and for so long? And I think, am I really asking that question? This is Fifa after all. Nothing should surprise anybody, and I don't think anything does. Here’s to a new Fifa......no, no, I'm not going down that road again.
Two weeks to go until the new Fifa president is elected and today another former Fifa big shot was sent packing. Jerome Valcke, former secretary general was banned from all football activity for 12 years. Almost seems like old news, repeated, now. Blatter, Platini, and a bunch of Fifa Executive Committee members banned or suspended, the only excitement is finding out what the reasons were.
Valcke's primary crime was being involved with a sports marketing firm and helping them, and himself, gain financially through the sale of World Cup tickets. But during the course of the investigations other misdemeanours came to light. The most entertaining, and that which fits into the model of the stereotypical sport executive that most of us believe is true of anybody in a position like this, was that he used private jets for sightseeing purposes and chose to fly on private jets rather than commercial flights. All of this was done at Fifa's expense.
Of course the obvious question is how did he get away with this at the time and for so long? And I think, am I really asking that question? This is Fifa after all. Nothing should surprise anybody, and I don't think anything does. Here’s to a new Fifa......no, no, I'm not going down that road again.
Thursday 11 February 2016
Of sponsors and hypocrites.
Day -853. WorldCup2018
I'm feeling a little disgruntled today with the news that the new President of the International Athletics Federation, Lord Coe, is upset that Nestle have terminated their sponsorship deal with the IAAF because of the doping and corruption scandals that the IAAF is mired in. My uneasiness comes from the fact that Lord Coe is calling Nestle hypocritical for sponsoring the Tour de France and all of its' doping scandals. And that made me think how hypocritical the IAAF are for having Nestle as sponsors, a company that has been associated with numerous controversies over the years, including child slavery and the infant formula scandal.
My thoughts drifted further still to how all the major sponsors of the International Olympic Committee and Fifa are huge money making companies that have been accused of immoral ways of making all that money. And the IOC and Fifa have repeatedly been involved in corruption scandals, involving huge amounts of money. They are all partners in crime. Politics and money rule all the sports we love watching even the amateur athletic federation. One would be naive to deny that Russia and Qatar won the rights to host the next two World Cups without a lot of political influence and significant amounts of money changing hands. And that's not to say the losing bids didn't do the same thing. But we all know this happens, so this is no surprise. It just gets a little depressing when you think about it.
So something a little happier is needed. Here's a memory from a sponsor-supported, Fifa-run World Cup. (ah, you can't get away from it). It's 1994, World Cup quarter final, Bulgaria vs. Germany. Bulgaria had never won a match before at a World Cup and were thrashed by Nigeria in their opening group match. But all of a sudden they were 2-0 and 4-0 winners against Argentina and Greece respectively. After a round of 16 win against Mexico their run was expected to come to an end against the mighty Germans. But with the inspiration of the incredible Stoichkov and Letchkov, Bulgaria pulled off what looked like the impossible win. Unfortunately, luck (and the referee) was not on their side in a close semi-final defeat to Italy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zT299bOCy3c
I'm feeling a little disgruntled today with the news that the new President of the International Athletics Federation, Lord Coe, is upset that Nestle have terminated their sponsorship deal with the IAAF because of the doping and corruption scandals that the IAAF is mired in. My uneasiness comes from the fact that Lord Coe is calling Nestle hypocritical for sponsoring the Tour de France and all of its' doping scandals. And that made me think how hypocritical the IAAF are for having Nestle as sponsors, a company that has been associated with numerous controversies over the years, including child slavery and the infant formula scandal.
My thoughts drifted further still to how all the major sponsors of the International Olympic Committee and Fifa are huge money making companies that have been accused of immoral ways of making all that money. And the IOC and Fifa have repeatedly been involved in corruption scandals, involving huge amounts of money. They are all partners in crime. Politics and money rule all the sports we love watching even the amateur athletic federation. One would be naive to deny that Russia and Qatar won the rights to host the next two World Cups without a lot of political influence and significant amounts of money changing hands. And that's not to say the losing bids didn't do the same thing. But we all know this happens, so this is no surprise. It just gets a little depressing when you think about it.
So something a little happier is needed. Here's a memory from a sponsor-supported, Fifa-run World Cup. (ah, you can't get away from it). It's 1994, World Cup quarter final, Bulgaria vs. Germany. Bulgaria had never won a match before at a World Cup and were thrashed by Nigeria in their opening group match. But all of a sudden they were 2-0 and 4-0 winners against Argentina and Greece respectively. After a round of 16 win against Mexico their run was expected to come to an end against the mighty Germans. But with the inspiration of the incredible Stoichkov and Letchkov, Bulgaria pulled off what looked like the impossible win. Unfortunately, luck (and the referee) was not on their side in a close semi-final defeat to Italy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zT299bOCy3c
Wednesday 10 February 2016
Maradona vs. Messi..ha! Take that!
Day -854. WorldCup2018.
Justification. Vindication. Be it whichever of these that it is I take some enjoyment out of reading a real journalist in a real newspaper writing similar thoughts to what I have been harping on about in my daily posts that may be read by a handful of people.
The subject was Messi vs Maradona, a favourite argument of mine. The writer was the author of "The Fiver", the Guardian newspaper's daily football email broadcast. I highly recommend signing up to receive it, for a daily dose of unparalleled football wit.
These were the opening few sentences of today's Fiver:
"Thank the football gods in heaven that Argentina won the 1986 World Cup final, huh folks? Not only did their triumph forever validate the unique talent of Diego Maradona – kids, think Lionel Messi, only he turned up for major international tournaments, went about his work at club level without 10 of the best players in the world doing his running for him, and played on pitches like pigsties when GBH was only a yellow-card offence – it also ensured that Karl-Heinz Rummenigge didn’t get his hands on football’s biggest prize."
(To get the Rummenigge reference read the rest of the Fiver. It's a whole other story)
Thank you the Fiver. On top of justification and vindication can I just say: See? Kids, it's not just me saying that about Messi.
Messi, you probably have one more World Cup, in 2018, to get your act in (Maradona) order. And the way you are not exactly helping in Argentina's much less than spectacular qualifying campaign you may not even give yourself the chance to do that.
Justification. Vindication. Be it whichever of these that it is I take some enjoyment out of reading a real journalist in a real newspaper writing similar thoughts to what I have been harping on about in my daily posts that may be read by a handful of people.
The subject was Messi vs Maradona, a favourite argument of mine. The writer was the author of "The Fiver", the Guardian newspaper's daily football email broadcast. I highly recommend signing up to receive it, for a daily dose of unparalleled football wit.
These were the opening few sentences of today's Fiver:
"Thank the football gods in heaven that Argentina won the 1986 World Cup final, huh folks? Not only did their triumph forever validate the unique talent of Diego Maradona – kids, think Lionel Messi, only he turned up for major international tournaments, went about his work at club level without 10 of the best players in the world doing his running for him, and played on pitches like pigsties when GBH was only a yellow-card offence – it also ensured that Karl-Heinz Rummenigge didn’t get his hands on football’s biggest prize."
(To get the Rummenigge reference read the rest of the Fiver. It's a whole other story)
Thank you the Fiver. On top of justification and vindication can I just say: See? Kids, it's not just me saying that about Messi.
Messi, you probably have one more World Cup, in 2018, to get your act in (Maradona) order. And the way you are not exactly helping in Argentina's much less than spectacular qualifying campaign you may not even give yourself the chance to do that.
Tuesday 9 February 2016
Infantino v. Sheikh Salman: the ongoing battle.
Day -855. WorldCup2018.
This Fifa election is getting really juicy. Well, as juicy as any other political race. But this is football, you say? Sure. It's all about football.
Today Gianni Infantino received the backing of the European Clubs' Association, which represents the biggest clubs in Europe. They see him as the ideal person to lead Fifa, except they don't agree with his plan to have a 40 team World Cup and they don't have a vote in the election.
In other news a group of Arab human rights organisations have come out in support of Sheikh Salman al-Khalifa, saying there is no truth in the Western media's allegations that Sheikh Salman was involved in the imprisonment and torture of Bahraini athletes and footballers. They are proud of the Sheikh's "clean record" and that no allegations have been proven. They also quoted from a Sky Sports interview with Sheikh Salman where he said he can guarantee that no footballers or athletes were targeted. Interesting choice of words. So maybe he's not denying that he was involved in the torture of non-athletes, or that he maintains that he didn't know that those who were tortured were athletes or footballers.
The Associated Press interviewed Sheikh Salman today. His latest angle is that there should be a "consensus candidate". He believes that all the candidates should agree who the winner is going to be and encourage all the member associations to back that one person. Interestingly, he aims most of his idea of democracy at Europe:
"I hope that Europe looks at it from an organisational point of view, and not an individual, on what is best."
He is looking to disrupt the European vote, while also using what Russia's Sports Minister/Fifa Executive Committee member Vitaly Mutko said recently that there should be a pre-election deal to "unite behind one man". Last week Russia said they would be voting for Infantino. Now, previous Fifa elections (including World Cup host elections) have shown us that politics played out in backroom meetings are not a reflection of what is said in public. Russia may be playing an interesting game here. Or, Sheikh Salman, may be completely off the mark.
The other consideration is the Prince Ali factor. It seems unlikely that he will win. However, he does seem to have the backing of a few disgruntled African associations, who will not go along with their confederation's backing of Sheikh Salman. And, if the reports are true, Japan and Australia will not follow the Asian confederation vote for Sheikh Salman but will vote for Prince Ali. These votes will take away from Infantino's and Sheikh Salman's first round vote totals. If no candidate gets two-thirds of the vote in the first round, all the candidates bar the first two are eliminated. The expectation is that Infantino and Sheikh Salman will be the two to move on. At this point the associations who voted for Prince Ali will have to vote for one of these two. And this is where the alliances come into play. The Asians will undoubtedly want to ensure that they get all the Asians on the Sheikh's side and also the Africans, based on the recent development agreement between Asia and Africa. There is however one little twist. Sheikh Salman and Prince Ali do not have a very good relationship. In fact, it is reported to be anything but good. Sheikh Salman was only reported to have entered the race after Michel Platini was suspended and he worried that Prince Ali was to become the favourite.
This is all very intriguing, but not for anyone naive enough to believe this is about football.
This Fifa election is getting really juicy. Well, as juicy as any other political race. But this is football, you say? Sure. It's all about football.
Today Gianni Infantino received the backing of the European Clubs' Association, which represents the biggest clubs in Europe. They see him as the ideal person to lead Fifa, except they don't agree with his plan to have a 40 team World Cup and they don't have a vote in the election.
In other news a group of Arab human rights organisations have come out in support of Sheikh Salman al-Khalifa, saying there is no truth in the Western media's allegations that Sheikh Salman was involved in the imprisonment and torture of Bahraini athletes and footballers. They are proud of the Sheikh's "clean record" and that no allegations have been proven. They also quoted from a Sky Sports interview with Sheikh Salman where he said he can guarantee that no footballers or athletes were targeted. Interesting choice of words. So maybe he's not denying that he was involved in the torture of non-athletes, or that he maintains that he didn't know that those who were tortured were athletes or footballers.
The Associated Press interviewed Sheikh Salman today. His latest angle is that there should be a "consensus candidate". He believes that all the candidates should agree who the winner is going to be and encourage all the member associations to back that one person. Interestingly, he aims most of his idea of democracy at Europe:
"I hope that Europe looks at it from an organisational point of view, and not an individual, on what is best."
He is looking to disrupt the European vote, while also using what Russia's Sports Minister/Fifa Executive Committee member Vitaly Mutko said recently that there should be a pre-election deal to "unite behind one man". Last week Russia said they would be voting for Infantino. Now, previous Fifa elections (including World Cup host elections) have shown us that politics played out in backroom meetings are not a reflection of what is said in public. Russia may be playing an interesting game here. Or, Sheikh Salman, may be completely off the mark.
The other consideration is the Prince Ali factor. It seems unlikely that he will win. However, he does seem to have the backing of a few disgruntled African associations, who will not go along with their confederation's backing of Sheikh Salman. And, if the reports are true, Japan and Australia will not follow the Asian confederation vote for Sheikh Salman but will vote for Prince Ali. These votes will take away from Infantino's and Sheikh Salman's first round vote totals. If no candidate gets two-thirds of the vote in the first round, all the candidates bar the first two are eliminated. The expectation is that Infantino and Sheikh Salman will be the two to move on. At this point the associations who voted for Prince Ali will have to vote for one of these two. And this is where the alliances come into play. The Asians will undoubtedly want to ensure that they get all the Asians on the Sheikh's side and also the Africans, based on the recent development agreement between Asia and Africa. There is however one little twist. Sheikh Salman and Prince Ali do not have a very good relationship. In fact, it is reported to be anything but good. Sheikh Salman was only reported to have entered the race after Michel Platini was suspended and he worried that Prince Ali was to become the favourite.
This is all very intriguing, but not for anyone naive enough to believe this is about football.
Monday 8 February 2016
Infantino for President (I say quietly).
Day -856. WorldCup2018.
The least of all evils. That is Gianni Infantino in the race to be the next Fifa president. I admit that all I know about him is what I read and he has achieved quite a lot with UEFA. My oft-repeated opinion is that all the candidates should be excluded because they were all part of the old Fifa. But my other wish is if that that wish doesn't come true then I hope that Gianni Infantino beats the current favourite, Sheikh Salman al-Khalifa. Or is he?
Last week the African confederation, CAF, endorsed Sheikh Salman, seemingly giving him all 54 African votes. But since then, South Sudan have said they are backing Infantino. And Musa Bility, the Liberian FA president claimed that at least 26 African nations are going to defy CAF's endorsement. It's not all good news for Infantino as Bility said Liberia will vote for another candidate, Prince Ali, as did Egypt. The other 24? If Bility's claim is true that could be very interesting.
In more good news for Infantino, the 10 South American countries of COMNEBOL pledged their support for him. And so did the Caribbean Footbal Union and the Central American Football Union, both regional bodies with the continental confederation, CONCACAF. If that support carries on throughout CONCACAF, then that's a possible 35 votes for Infantino, plus the 10 from COMNEBOL. And more European countries are confirming that they will vote for Infantino. There are 53 votes in Europe. This will all go a long way towards countering the almost definite 46 Asian votes for Sheikh Salman and the uncertain number from Africa.
It may come down to a few important votes from the small countries, like Malta and Tahiti, who's vote in Fifa's ridiculous system have equal weight as those of countries such as Brazil and Germany.
The Maltese FA have, in the past, declared their support for Prince Ali, who himself said that he entered the race after receiving personal backing from the Maltese FA president. I'll have to get working on my contacts there to get them to not waste their vote on the Prince.
After a few months of silence this is now getting juicy. May the best man (Infantino) win.
The least of all evils. That is Gianni Infantino in the race to be the next Fifa president. I admit that all I know about him is what I read and he has achieved quite a lot with UEFA. My oft-repeated opinion is that all the candidates should be excluded because they were all part of the old Fifa. But my other wish is if that that wish doesn't come true then I hope that Gianni Infantino beats the current favourite, Sheikh Salman al-Khalifa. Or is he?
Last week the African confederation, CAF, endorsed Sheikh Salman, seemingly giving him all 54 African votes. But since then, South Sudan have said they are backing Infantino. And Musa Bility, the Liberian FA president claimed that at least 26 African nations are going to defy CAF's endorsement. It's not all good news for Infantino as Bility said Liberia will vote for another candidate, Prince Ali, as did Egypt. The other 24? If Bility's claim is true that could be very interesting.
In more good news for Infantino, the 10 South American countries of COMNEBOL pledged their support for him. And so did the Caribbean Footbal Union and the Central American Football Union, both regional bodies with the continental confederation, CONCACAF. If that support carries on throughout CONCACAF, then that's a possible 35 votes for Infantino, plus the 10 from COMNEBOL. And more European countries are confirming that they will vote for Infantino. There are 53 votes in Europe. This will all go a long way towards countering the almost definite 46 Asian votes for Sheikh Salman and the uncertain number from Africa.
It may come down to a few important votes from the small countries, like Malta and Tahiti, who's vote in Fifa's ridiculous system have equal weight as those of countries such as Brazil and Germany.
The Maltese FA have, in the past, declared their support for Prince Ali, who himself said that he entered the race after receiving personal backing from the Maltese FA president. I'll have to get working on my contacts there to get them to not waste their vote on the Prince.
After a few months of silence this is now getting juicy. May the best man (Infantino) win.
Sunday 7 February 2016
Sunday funnies with Tokyo Sexwale
Day -857. WorldCup2018.
It's Sunday so time for something funny. I came across this website a while ago, via their amusing tweets. It was amusing to the point of ridiculous and was of the "surely this isn't real" type of fan page.
Real or not, meant to be serious or funny, somebody out there wants Tokyo Sexwale to get a lot of publicity. I recommend giving it a read. It won't take long. Be warned, there's a lot of shi**y sh*t. Really. The word is used a lot in anger. And there are some very compelling reasons why Tokyo Sexwale should be Fifa president. Number 1 on the list is that he knows karate. This is good as he can kick the sh*t out of Fifa. He also knows Sepp Blatter very well. Follow the logic here. This means he knows how NOT to run Fifa.
Poor Tokyo. His own continental confederation is backing a rival from another continent, he has a fan club run by a crackpot making Tokyo himself the laughing stock of the Fifa presidential election and his own fan club makes fun of his name citing it as reason why he should be President.
http://tokyosexwale.com/
It's Sunday so time for something funny. I came across this website a while ago, via their amusing tweets. It was amusing to the point of ridiculous and was of the "surely this isn't real" type of fan page.
Real or not, meant to be serious or funny, somebody out there wants Tokyo Sexwale to get a lot of publicity. I recommend giving it a read. It won't take long. Be warned, there's a lot of shi**y sh*t. Really. The word is used a lot in anger. And there are some very compelling reasons why Tokyo Sexwale should be Fifa president. Number 1 on the list is that he knows karate. This is good as he can kick the sh*t out of Fifa. He also knows Sepp Blatter very well. Follow the logic here. This means he knows how NOT to run Fifa.
Poor Tokyo. His own continental confederation is backing a rival from another continent, he has a fan club run by a crackpot making Tokyo himself the laughing stock of the Fifa presidential election and his own fan club makes fun of his name citing it as reason why he should be President.
http://tokyosexwale.com/
Saturday 6 February 2016
China: Part 2
Day -858. WorldCup2018.
Don't be surprised if World Cup 2026 is handed to China. All of a sudden that's where all the money is. And it's big money. The MLS in the the U.S. and Canada thought it could become the league to compete with Europe by attracting big name players like Robbie Keane, Steven Gerrard, David Beckham, Didier Drogba. Big names, but also quite high in the age category and pretty much at the end of their careers. So while Los Angeles celebrate their latest ex-England player addition to their team, 35 year old Ashley Cole (who couldn't get a game at Rome anymore), football supporters in China are looking forward to welcoming yet another Brazilian player in his prime.
Liverpool made a £24m offer to Shakhtar Donetsk for Alex Teixeira. A couple of days later he was off to Jiangsu Suning in China for £38m, joining his new teammate Ramirez, signed from Chelsea for £25m. And they will be playing against Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao's latest recruit Jackson Martinez, another much sought after player who left Atletico Madrid, fighting to win the Spanish league. Together with a number of other South American players and marquee coaches like Sven Goran Eriksson and "Big Phil" Scolari, China is looking like the place to be if you are a footballer who wants to make serious money.
Arsene Wenger, when asked if Premier League clubs in England should be worried about the amount of money Chinese clubs are spending on players, said:
"China looks to have the financial power to move the whole league of Europe to China."
He also pointed out that Japan did this a number of years ago but it didn't last. But there is one big difference in China. There is political motivation. President Xi is a huge football fan and he is behind this football revolution. Not only are big Chinese companies investing money in football teams, schools are now focusing on football.
There was also the story last week that the Chinese company, Ledman, that sponsors the Chinese Super League will be the sponsor of the Portuguese second division. They were forced to back down from their original plan to force teams to use Chinese players but there will be payments to clubs for using Chinese players and assistant coaches.
Big money and political backing from the country's President are the two perfect combinations for a World Cup bid. Russia, Qatar, anybody? But that was old Fifa. Let's see what new Fifa does, with their brand new, different way of thinking president. Right. But I've been flogging that dead horse too much recently.
Don't be surprised if World Cup 2026 is handed to China. All of a sudden that's where all the money is. And it's big money. The MLS in the the U.S. and Canada thought it could become the league to compete with Europe by attracting big name players like Robbie Keane, Steven Gerrard, David Beckham, Didier Drogba. Big names, but also quite high in the age category and pretty much at the end of their careers. So while Los Angeles celebrate their latest ex-England player addition to their team, 35 year old Ashley Cole (who couldn't get a game at Rome anymore), football supporters in China are looking forward to welcoming yet another Brazilian player in his prime.
Liverpool made a £24m offer to Shakhtar Donetsk for Alex Teixeira. A couple of days later he was off to Jiangsu Suning in China for £38m, joining his new teammate Ramirez, signed from Chelsea for £25m. And they will be playing against Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao's latest recruit Jackson Martinez, another much sought after player who left Atletico Madrid, fighting to win the Spanish league. Together with a number of other South American players and marquee coaches like Sven Goran Eriksson and "Big Phil" Scolari, China is looking like the place to be if you are a footballer who wants to make serious money.
Arsene Wenger, when asked if Premier League clubs in England should be worried about the amount of money Chinese clubs are spending on players, said:
"China looks to have the financial power to move the whole league of Europe to China."
He also pointed out that Japan did this a number of years ago but it didn't last. But there is one big difference in China. There is political motivation. President Xi is a huge football fan and he is behind this football revolution. Not only are big Chinese companies investing money in football teams, schools are now focusing on football.
There was also the story last week that the Chinese company, Ledman, that sponsors the Chinese Super League will be the sponsor of the Portuguese second division. They were forced to back down from their original plan to force teams to use Chinese players but there will be payments to clubs for using Chinese players and assistant coaches.
Big money and political backing from the country's President are the two perfect combinations for a World Cup bid. Russia, Qatar, anybody? But that was old Fifa. Let's see what new Fifa does, with their brand new, different way of thinking president. Right. But I've been flogging that dead horse too much recently.
Friday 5 February 2016
Gianni Infantino: the final hope
Day -859. WorldCup2018.
Do I do this for the fun of it, the fun of writing and the fun of writing about football? Or is it because I set myself a challenge, ridiculous as it may be, and am determined to see it through. All of the above, for sure. But maybe I also hope that when it comes to issues affecting most people's simple love of football, I could somehow turn this into something that makes a difference. When I read today's news I think either I'd better start working on a plan if I want to be effective or why bother, when 54 African countries decide that an alleged torturer of his own countrymen and women is the best person to lead football out of the mess it's in.
Today CAF, the African confederation, officially endorsed Sheikh Salman al-Khalifa to as their choice for Fifa president. True, it does not mean that all 54 associations have to vote for him but chances are very high that they will. And along with the development agreement signed with the Asian confederation it looks like a pretty sure bet that Sheikh Salman has 100 votes out of the 209 in the bag. Let's assume, or at this point pray, that Gianni Infantino gets all of the 53 European votes. Then he's going to have to travel far and wide to get support in the Americas and Oceania and hope nobody wastes their votes on the other three, seemingly no-hoper candidates.
I have said repeatedly that the only real solution I see for Fifa is that it is disbanded, all these candidates excluded and the whole organisation starts all over from scratch. That is not going to happen. My more serious hope and plea is that Sheikh Salman does not win. How all the Africans can vote for him is beyond me. Yet sadly, at the same time, I realise that football association presidents are, in the majority, politicians. That they are voting for a person who was part of government that tortured fellow Muslims does not seem to be as important as the promise of what Fifa can do for Africa, and the need, they see, for a non-European president. The European's only crime? That he may have been a little to close to Sepp Blatter and his corrupt ways, the same corrupt ways that probably helped fill the pockets, and bank accounts, of more than just the South African organising committee in Africa. The logic astounds me. We don't want a European because the last one, at least legally, did nothing for us. Instead we would rather have a Middle Eastern Sheikh who was part of a torturous regime that is still in power.
My last hope would be that if the Sheikh does win that the Europeans, and Americans (all of them) and the Oceanic members, boycott Fifa. I know this will not happen. There will be lots of big talk and empty threats, like there have been aimed at Russia and Qatar. But in the end everybody will bow down, for the "good of the game".
Do I do this for the fun of it, the fun of writing and the fun of writing about football? Or is it because I set myself a challenge, ridiculous as it may be, and am determined to see it through. All of the above, for sure. But maybe I also hope that when it comes to issues affecting most people's simple love of football, I could somehow turn this into something that makes a difference. When I read today's news I think either I'd better start working on a plan if I want to be effective or why bother, when 54 African countries decide that an alleged torturer of his own countrymen and women is the best person to lead football out of the mess it's in.
Today CAF, the African confederation, officially endorsed Sheikh Salman al-Khalifa to as their choice for Fifa president. True, it does not mean that all 54 associations have to vote for him but chances are very high that they will. And along with the development agreement signed with the Asian confederation it looks like a pretty sure bet that Sheikh Salman has 100 votes out of the 209 in the bag. Let's assume, or at this point pray, that Gianni Infantino gets all of the 53 European votes. Then he's going to have to travel far and wide to get support in the Americas and Oceania and hope nobody wastes their votes on the other three, seemingly no-hoper candidates.
I have said repeatedly that the only real solution I see for Fifa is that it is disbanded, all these candidates excluded and the whole organisation starts all over from scratch. That is not going to happen. My more serious hope and plea is that Sheikh Salman does not win. How all the Africans can vote for him is beyond me. Yet sadly, at the same time, I realise that football association presidents are, in the majority, politicians. That they are voting for a person who was part of government that tortured fellow Muslims does not seem to be as important as the promise of what Fifa can do for Africa, and the need, they see, for a non-European president. The European's only crime? That he may have been a little to close to Sepp Blatter and his corrupt ways, the same corrupt ways that probably helped fill the pockets, and bank accounts, of more than just the South African organising committee in Africa. The logic astounds me. We don't want a European because the last one, at least legally, did nothing for us. Instead we would rather have a Middle Eastern Sheikh who was part of a torturous regime that is still in power.
My last hope would be that if the Sheikh does win that the Europeans, and Americans (all of them) and the Oceanic members, boycott Fifa. I know this will not happen. There will be lots of big talk and empty threats, like there have been aimed at Russia and Qatar. But in the end everybody will bow down, for the "good of the game".
Thursday 4 February 2016
Prince Ali: another sinking ship
Day -860. WorldCup2018.
Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein is trying to keep himself afloat in the Fifa presidential race but this looks like it will backfire on him. From Fifa's end it looks like the right thing to do, stopping funding for the two regions that have been most guilty of misappropriation of these funds. Fifa, for once in its recent history, appear to be doing the right thing and have scored a few points amongst the Fifa skeptics. And, therefore it seems like Prince Ali is wrong to question this decision. True, there is reason to question every Fifa decision. But this is more about Prince Ali looking to regain ground in the race to be president. And, if his candidature was dying, this was hardly the kiss of life.
http://sports.yahoo.com/…/soccer-prince-ali-slams-fifa-cash…
Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein is trying to keep himself afloat in the Fifa presidential race but this looks like it will backfire on him. From Fifa's end it looks like the right thing to do, stopping funding for the two regions that have been most guilty of misappropriation of these funds. Fifa, for once in its recent history, appear to be doing the right thing and have scored a few points amongst the Fifa skeptics. And, therefore it seems like Prince Ali is wrong to question this decision. True, there is reason to question every Fifa decision. But this is more about Prince Ali looking to regain ground in the race to be president. And, if his candidature was dying, this was hardly the kiss of life.
http://sports.yahoo.com/…/soccer-prince-ali-slams-fifa-cash…
Wednesday 3 February 2016
Infantino, Alex Ferguson and Russi
Day - 861 WorldCup2018.
Gianni Infantino is looking more like the man to beat. Today Alex Ferguson spoke highly of him and gave his endorsement. And, more interestingly, Russia said they will be backing Infantino. This is significant as Russia seemed to be opposed to the opinion of most of the UEFA associations in regards to Blatter and Fifa, so much so that there was talk of UEFA breaking away from Fifa with Russia being left in limbo. And Infantino is the UEFA man. This needs more thought. I'll be on to it.
Gianni Infantino is looking more like the man to beat. Today Alex Ferguson spoke highly of him and gave his endorsement. And, more interestingly, Russia said they will be backing Infantino. This is significant as Russia seemed to be opposed to the opinion of most of the UEFA associations in regards to Blatter and Fifa, so much so that there was talk of UEFA breaking away from Fifa with Russia being left in limbo. And Infantino is the UEFA man. This needs more thought. I'll be on to it.
Tuesday 2 February 2016
Is Sexwale sinking?
Day -862. WorldCup2018.
It looks like Tokyo Sexwale is going to be beached very soon and he is losing his mojo.
It's not going so well for Tokyo and his bid to be Fifa president. As the African candidate he's not getting much help from CAF, the African Federation. They have yet to publicly support him. And many of the African associations are questioning what Mr Sexwale's plans are for Africa if he wins. They say that he has forgotten Africa.
He was in Doha this past weekend for meetings with Sheikh Salman al-Khalifa, the Asian candidate, amidst talk of alliances. So maybe he has given up already, but wants to be remembered when the Sheikh wins. I shudder at that thought, for previously stated reasons. As part of the recent Asian-African deal on football development, Mr Sexwale may be eyeing a prestigious (and lucrative) position within Fifa under the Sheikh's presidency.
There are strong rumours that when the CAF executive meet this Friday they may ask him to withdraw his candidacy. He has sadly become a bit of a comical sideshow. Not even his time in prison with Nelson Mandela can work in his favour anymore. No sympathy vote. So strike Tokyo off the list.
My hopes of a complete scrapping of the vote with these candidates are looking very unlikely. My second hope is that Sheikh Salman does not get anywhere near winning. Gianni Infantino may be the man, reservations aside.
It looks like Tokyo Sexwale is going to be beached very soon and he is losing his mojo.
It's not going so well for Tokyo and his bid to be Fifa president. As the African candidate he's not getting much help from CAF, the African Federation. They have yet to publicly support him. And many of the African associations are questioning what Mr Sexwale's plans are for Africa if he wins. They say that he has forgotten Africa.
He was in Doha this past weekend for meetings with Sheikh Salman al-Khalifa, the Asian candidate, amidst talk of alliances. So maybe he has given up already, but wants to be remembered when the Sheikh wins. I shudder at that thought, for previously stated reasons. As part of the recent Asian-African deal on football development, Mr Sexwale may be eyeing a prestigious (and lucrative) position within Fifa under the Sheikh's presidency.
There are strong rumours that when the CAF executive meet this Friday they may ask him to withdraw his candidacy. He has sadly become a bit of a comical sideshow. Not even his time in prison with Nelson Mandela can work in his favour anymore. No sympathy vote. So strike Tokyo off the list.
My hopes of a complete scrapping of the vote with these candidates are looking very unlikely. My second hope is that Sheikh Salman does not get anywhere near winning. Gianni Infantino may be the man, reservations aside.
Monday 1 February 2016
Gianni Infantino and the Blatter factor
Day -863. WorldCup2018
I was beginning to like this Gianni Infantino. If there is to be no complete overhaul of the list of presidential candidates then he was starting to look like the best bet. But then he can't come out and say a bad word about Sepp Blatter. Yes, respect and all that. But is there an element of fear there? Does Infantino suspect that Blatter, despite being banned, still wields enough power in the football world to influence voters. And is he worried that if he does get elected and Blatter wins his appeal, that Blatter will come back to make his time as President a nightmare if he says anything negative?
http://www.theguardian.com/…/gianni-infantino-fifa-sepp-bla…
I was beginning to like this Gianni Infantino. If there is to be no complete overhaul of the list of presidential candidates then he was starting to look like the best bet. But then he can't come out and say a bad word about Sepp Blatter. Yes, respect and all that. But is there an element of fear there? Does Infantino suspect that Blatter, despite being banned, still wields enough power in the football world to influence voters. And is he worried that if he does get elected and Blatter wins his appeal, that Blatter will come back to make his time as President a nightmare if he says anything negative?
http://www.theguardian.com/…/gianni-infantino-fifa-sepp-bla…
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