Football’s happy new year

To say that 2015 was football’s annus horribilis is a huge understatement. In reality, for those of us who still manage to follow the game with a minimum of passion, it provided some relief. At least some of the wrongdoing at the top of its structures won’t go unpunished. Yet, trust in the way sport is governed is at an all time low, and that is not good news.

The New Year should bring some hope. It must.

Sepp, this way out please

Monday 21st December: “I am still the president. I regret, but I am not ashamed”.

Tuesday 29th December: “I now no longer fight for Fifa. They abandoned me. I am now only fighting for myself and my honour.”

These were the last two pearls of wisdom Sepp Blatter parted with. With his logic he should be the next candidate for sainthood. I’m sure he did give it some thought. It’s just a tad trickier with an Argentinian Pope. One could always conjure to find an acquaintance to take his place as a post-FIFA project.

The big day: 26th February 2016. As both Blatter and Platini battle it out in tribunals and courtrooms, the process to elect FIFA’s next president goes on. In all likelihood, end of February comes too soon for the two – particularly Platini – to manage some kind of resurrection. In my eyes the Frenchman turned out to be the biggest loser in the whole saga. He had planned a smooth transition to the FIFA presidency once Blatter retired. The latter stayed a term too many and Platini did not have the audacity to contest him this year. Now he arguably ended up, perhaps unjustly, as disgraced as his former mentor.

Since July we’ve had a rollercoaster of arrests, suspensions, extraditions and so many other events that should not even be mentioned in the same sentence with sport. You can’t really be blamed for raising your hopes too high in view of this election. The sad reality is that the inherent culture of governance in world football (as in most international sports federations) does not leave much space for idealistic optimism. The list of candidates vying for the post in question does little to disprove my point.

The five possible saviours 

One of the candidates’ claim to fame is having spent time in jail with Nelson Mandela. South African Tokyo Sexwale eventually made it big in the mining business and served on the South Africa 2010 World Cup Organising Committee.

Another, Jerome Champagne, served on FIFA’s Executive Committee for 11 years (although never implied in any scandals). He had failed to obtain the minimum number of five nominations to contest Blatter last May. His battle-cry is the need for better redistribution of the wealth football creates. Noble idea, one which the big boys (i.e. big countries and big leagues with big clubs) won’t like.

Europe’s candidate, current UEFA General Secretary Gianni Infantino, was the latest addition to the lot. He’s known as a good administrator but he never occupied the front seat. Besides, he is in the list as Platini’s alter ego.

We come to the favourites. Prince Ali bin Al Hussein of Jordan took on Blatter earlier this year, garnering 73 of the 209 votes. The Malta FA was one of the associations nominating him then, and it is doing so again now. Quite admirable when considering that the MFA shunned Platini and later Infantino to stick to its guns. The Prince is basing his campaign on the need for reform to tackle corruption in the running of the organisation. The fact that he cannot bank on most of his Asian counterparts could be crucially detrimental.

That’s because Asian associations tend to rally behind their current Confederation President, Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa of Bahrain. A former backer of Platini, Al Khalifa’s main theme is decentralisation of power within FIFA. As a member of the Bahrain royal family he has been accused by human right groups of being involved in the suppression of demonstrations in 2011. Such little matter aside, as things stand he seems to be the front runner. But eight weeks until 26 February is a very long time.

On the pitch 

Thankfully the show goes on. The key football event of the New Year ought to be Euro 2016 taking place in France. The tournament will include 24 teams, including newbies such as Albania, Northern Ireland, Wales and Iceland. Holders Spain may not be the same bunch by now, and meanwhile Germany have become World Champions.

We’ll have more time to savour the excitement such tournaments bring with them. At this point in time, reeling as we are from the shock of the Paris attacks in November, it is impossible not to link the two. It is inevitable that fans will have security concerns at the back of their minds.

Closer to home, 2016 will also see the start of the 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign. A number of exciting fixtures await our national team. The opener is at home against Scotland on the 4th September, followed by the away encounter against England a month later.

Football is one of the constants in life. Enjoy it while you can. Happy 2016.