As we have learnt in the last few days and weeks, Fifa executive members seem to be a motley bunch. And of one other thing we can be fairly certain: none of them has had to dig deep into their pockets to actually buy a match ticket themselves in a very long time. The same will be true of the overwhelming majority of Fifa delegates gathering for their congress in Zurich on Wednesday.
It’s the fans who have to pick up the pieces of the mess Fifa is in, yet our voice is entirely absent in the organisation. Of course we don’t speak with one voice — our opinions and experiences vary — but since I’ve been going to World Cups, France 1998, Fifa has been held in the lowest possible regard by almost all of us supporters. Those who run Fifa have successively turned this most wonderful of tournaments into a corporate jamboree.
Not many fans are anti-globalisation campaigners, but when we see the coachloads of sponsors arriving at grounds to take up thousands of seats that should be going to fans we know something is wrong. When we are prevented from hanging our flags because a St George’s cross isn’t a corporate sponsor’s logo we know Fifa values its contracts more. And when we see our game run by businessmen who see football as a way to make a fast buck and politicians who use our game to enhance their reputation we know it is in the hands of the wrong sort of people.
Albert Camus, existentialist author and half-decent goalie, once wrote: “All that I know most surely about morality and obligations I owe to football.” Well, not as long as Sepp Blatter and his ilk are the game’s guardians.
Postponement
The re-election of Fifa’s president should be postponed. As an England fan, it pains me to suggest it but we should be pleading with Franz Beckenbauer to take temporary charge, with Pelé, Roger Milla and Hidetoshi Nakata as his vice presidents. Players from four corners of the world and different generations. A symbolic move perhaps, but sending out an entirely different message to Blatter being re-elected unopposed.
Fifa should also be reconstituted and reformed over the next year and only then should we return to the 2018 and 2022 decisions to ensure there is absolutely no question of vote-fixing. An independent commission should be appointed to monitor all Fifa elections. The World Cup vote, Fifa’s single most important decision, should be made by the congress not the executive. And each Fifa affiliate should elect four delegates to represent their national association, the players, managers and coaches, and us fans. The Fifa executive should be made up of lay representatives, some elected by the congress, some by the regional confederations. It should have fixed terms of no more than four years, and each executive should be paid the same as parliamentarians in their own country, with strictly controlled expenses.
Worldwide, most fans have three demands: as many tickets for World Cups as possible should go to the fans, not the sponsors, and they should be at the lowest possible price. And all games should be screened on free-to-air TV, not overpriced subscription channels. Above all, serving Fifa should not be a job for life nor a way to get rich quick. If football’s bureaucrats, many of whom do an excellent job, but some we know do anything but, were outnumbered three to one at a Fifa congress by the players, coaches and fans, it would transform the organisation for the better overnight. – guardian.co.uk