Presedential Candidates: a recap

Day -970. ‪WorldCup2018‬.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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