The "new" Fifa

Day -760. ‪‎WorldCup2018‬
I said it before the Fifa presidential election in February: unless the new president was someone not previously involved with Fifa, or even with football at all, it would just be the same Fifa with a different Sepp Blatter at the helm. Gianni Infantino started well, or at least he attempted to give the impression that he was, when he flew on a budget airline to England on his first trip rather than using the private jet that Blatter favoured. However, this Reuters story shows how it really is business as usual at the "new" Fifa's first congress in Mexico City. The highlights are:

• Fifa paid for all business class fights and luxury hotel rooms for a 3 person delegation from each of the 209 member associations
• Each delegate received $1000 spending money
• Many of the delegates opted to avail themselves of the luxury bus on offer to take them the 500 metres from their hotel to the Congress venue
• Fifa made a big deal about the Legends match (and paid for all the legends to be there), yet the match was only open to specially invited guests who were wined and dined throughout.

When Infantino was asked about the $1000 spending money his answer was that "we might look into it".
Now, find me a football delegate who will say no to their business class flight, luxury hotel, all expenses paid (plus more) holiday in Mexico City and I will find you a Serbian who is ecstatic that Kosovo is now part of Fifa.
 
Yes, make that 211 member associations, with Gibraltar and Kosovo accepted as Fifa members. And already the necessary conditions for 2018 World Cup qualifying have been put out there: Serbia cannot be drawn with Kosovo and, as with Euro qualifying, Spain cannot play Gibraltar. It makes you think about Israel. They play in European qualifying because so many Arab countries won't play against them. Maybe, in a reverse move, Europe should trade Spain and Serbia to Asian qualifying in return for having taken Israel. And while I'm at, how about Australia? They became Asian a few years ago. What other country can be moved out of its geographical continent to a different football continent?
 
But I digress from Fifa largesse, although recognising a country which is not a country according to the United Nations might be another angle of the unopposed world power Fifa enjoys.

http://in.mobile.reuters.com/article/idINKCN0Y502T?irpc=932