What shall FIFA do now?

[gotosy]

Čeferin elected as UEFA President

 

Aleksander Čeferin has been elected as UEFA's seventh President at the European body's Extraordinary Congress in Athens.

The 48-year-old Slovenian received 42 votes from UEFA's member associations, against 13 votes for the other candidate, Michael van Praag (Netherlands).

In taking the helm of European football, Čeferin follows Ebbe Schwartz (Denmark), Gustav Wiederkehr (Switzerland), Artemio Franchi (Italy), Jacques Georges (France), Lennart Johansson (Sweden) and Michel Platini (France), who have all served as UEFA President since the body was founded in 1954.

Čeferin was born in Ljubljana, Slovenia on 13 October 1967. A graduate of Ljubljana University's law faculty, he went on to work for his family's law firm and developed a special interest in representing professional athletes and sports clubs. He later took over the role of company director.

He first took a formal interest in local football in 2005 through his work with the executive board of KMN Svea Lesna Litija, one of Slovenia's most successful futsal clubs. He has also been a member of the executive committee of amateur side FC Ljubljana Lawyers since 2005. 

A married father of three, fluent in English and Italian, Čeferin was elected as Football Association of Slovenia president in 2011. He has also served as a second and third vice-chairman of the UEFA Legal Committee since 2011. 

UEFA

 

[Rob2012]

Two potentially big news stories, one from a few days ago....

Russia’s entire 2014 World Cup squad face Fifa doping investigation

...and the other is that German newspaper Bild have apparently got hold of the (unpublished) Garcia report into the 2018/22 process. They will be reporting on it tomorrow.

A reminder; Garcia quit in protest because of what he called an "erroneous" summary of his report released by FIFA, which said Russia and Qatar had been cleared.

 

Edited June 26, 2017 by Rob.

[Ikarus360]

And now you better get ready for the "Oh no, it's the west being russophobic again and doing a disprestige campaign against us, bohoo". It's always cute seeing Russia acting all innocent everytime as if they never did anything wrong.

Also, this just in. Germay just published that report with more proofs of Qatar buying their way for the 2022 hosting rights. 

http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/40412928

Then again, FIFA doesn't give a damn at this point and they still want to shove Qatar into our throats we like it or not. So i don't expect much from this. But the more their reputation is damaged, the better. 

[Roger87]

At least after this mess, we won't have Russia as a host for another big event in a long time (Or just I hope).

[Ikarus360]

Also, on second thought, now that Qatar is a pariah of sorts in the Middle East (though because of hypocrite reasons and their little cold war with Iran) , wonder if FIFA could take away the WC from them without fearing a backslash from the Arab countries like before.

[Rob2012]

Sepp Blatter gets new six-year ban from football after Fifa investigation

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/mar/24/sepp-blatter-gets-new-six-year-ban-from-football-after-fifa-investigation?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

 

 

Edited March 24, 2021 by Rob.

[iceman530]

please.........please just give it to England already.  They are literally one of two countries that could take that event on in three weeks notice with currently existing infrastructure.  The other is co-hosting 2026 world cup.  This isn't a throw your hands in the air "you cant get the infrastructure ready in time" panic like an Olympics would be.  A World Cup, yes........yes you absolutely could get England fit in in that short of notice, and there is still time to correct this fiasco.  

[Quaker2001]

9 hours ago, iceman530 said:

please.........please just give it to England already.  They are literally one of two countries that could take that event on in three weeks notice with currently existing infrastructure.  The other is co-hosting 2026 world cup.  This isn't a throw your hands in the air "you cant get the infrastructure ready in time" panic like an Olympics would be.  A World Cup, yes........yes you absolutely could get England fit in in that short of notice, and there is still time to correct this fiasco.  

It has been more than 10 years since Qatar was awarded this World Cup.  And from that moment, there was virtually zero chance that FIFA was going to pull a reversal.  Not after the false promises and air conditioned stadiums.  Not after moving the World Cup away from its usual calendar.  Not after reports of bribery.  Not after we heard that migrant workers are literally dying to build the stadiums.

Even if FIFA was willing to strip Qatar of the World Cup (which we know they're not going to do after all this time), would England even want this?  To host a World Cup on a little over a year's notice, changing the calendar, and doing all of this when we're still not 100% sure when we'll be on the other side of the worst pandemic this planet has seen since before there was a World Cup?

It's been more than half a century since England last hosted a World Cup.  Go all out for 2030.  What more perfect host for the centennial of the World Cup than to have it there (sorry Uruguay, being a small piece of an Argentina-led 4 country bid is not it).  Do it right rather than rushing in.  This isn't Mexico 1986 where they stepped in for Columbia after having just hosted in fairly recent memory.  England deserves a full lead up to a World Cup and they'll probably want to do it at a time when there is more certainty with the planet.

FIFA made their bed with Qatar for 2022.  Now they have to go lie in it.  Too late to turn back now, much like the IOC won't tell China they can't host the Olympics.  It's simply not going to happen

[iceman530]

IMO, asking if England wants to host a World Cup is like asking most men if they would want to go on a date with Kate Beckinsale.  The football thirst and lust in England is real, and they've fallen back in love with their national team again.  And the kicker is, they are actually GOOD now because they play more as a team, play for each other, and play a system that they believe in.  The English I think would jump at that chance, with all logistical challenges be damned.  England is probably twenty-twenty five stadiums deep in stadiums that would be more than viable for the world cup.  Beautiful stadiums with history at that.  

But of course.........the pressure on FIFA must be overwhelming to make that happen.  Starting with sponsors.  It has to be a combination of relentlessness and complete embarrassment at this point.  Players are starting to come up on that point and have begun their protests, but with their pocket books stuffed, FIFA might be able to handle all the embarrassment in the world to get their rediculous scheme to happen.  

I am sincerely having a hard time deciding which one is worse, the Beijing Olympics or the Qatar World Cup.  I think Qatar is probably worse because it flips the sports calendar and they actually had viable alternatives, where the IOC only had Almaty as an alternative.  

[Rob2012]

Whilst a lot of the above is true, my feeling is if FIFA wants us to host a world cup they should award us one in the normal way, not as last minute rush job to fix their mess.

We don't know quite how Covid will play out yet and the calendar is geared towards a winter world cup which isn't going to work here.

But if FIFA really is that desperate then we'll have both 2022 and 2030, the latter as thanks for valiantly stepping in to host the former. 

[Quaker2001]

18 hours ago, iceman530 said:

IMO, asking if England wants to host a World Cup is like asking most men if they would want to go on a date with Kate Beckinsale.  The football thirst and lust in England is real, and they've fallen back in love with their national team again.  And the kicker is, they are actually GOOD now because they play more as a team, play for each other, and play a system that they believe in.  The English I think would jump at that chance, with all logistical challenges be damned.  England is probably twenty-twenty five stadiums deep in stadiums that would be more than viable for the world cup.  Beautiful stadiums with history at that.  

But of course.........the pressure on FIFA must be overwhelming to make that happen.  Starting with sponsors.  It has to be a combination of relentlessness and complete embarrassment at this point.  Players are starting to come up on that point and have begun their protests, but with their pocket books stuffed, FIFA might be able to handle all the embarrassment in the world to get their rediculous scheme to happen.  

I am sincerely having a hard time deciding which one is worse, the Beijing Olympics or the Qatar World Cup.  I think Qatar is probably worse because it flips the sports calendar and they actually had viable alternatives, where the IOC only had Almaty as an alternative.  

For awhile, I thought Qatar was worse, but given how a lot of the Western world feels about China these days, the IOC is going to catch a lot more flak for agreeing to hold an event in China than FIFA will for choosing Qatar.  Not to minimize the very direct effects the World Cup has had on migrant workers, but at the end of the day, it's Qatar.  It's not a world superpower looking to put on a show for the world (for the 2nd time in less than 15 years) and hoping to whitewash everything that's going on there.

As for the 2022 World Cup, there's no more pressure now on them to make a change than there was 5 years ago.  If they haven't done anything up until now, why would suddenly they decide they have to relocate the World Cup?  Helps FIFA's cause what's going on with China and next year's Winter Olympics that Qatar is barely on anyone's radar. 

I have the same sentiment as Rob.. when the United States missed out on the 2022 World Cup to Qatar, I was upset, but I didn't want their sloppy seconds.  So the United States bids again and now we got one the right while with all the proper lead-up and fanfare it deserves.  England deserves the same and they've got a lot longer without hosting than we have here.  And again, given all the uncertainly in the world due to COVID, the last thing any country needs is to figure out how to make that all work on short notice when we can't really be 100% sure what the sports world will look like for 2022 and beyond.

[stryker]

On 4/10/2021 at 11:55 PM, iceman530 said:

IMO, asking if England wants to host a World Cup is like asking most men if they would want to go on a date with Kate Beckinsale.  The football thirst and lust in England is real, and they've fallen back in love with their national team again.  And the kicker is, they are actually GOOD now because they play more as a team, play for each other, and play a system that they believe in.  The English I think would jump at that chance, with all logistical challenges be damned.  England is probably twenty-twenty five stadiums deep in stadiums that would be more than viable for the world cup.  Beautiful stadiums with history at that.  

But of course.........the pressure on FIFA must be overwhelming to make that happen.  Starting with sponsors.  It has to be a combination of relentlessness and complete embarrassment at this point.  Players are starting to come up on that point and have begun their protests, but with their pocket books stuffed, FIFA might be able to handle all the embarrassment in the world to get their rediculous scheme to happen.  

I am sincerely having a hard time deciding which one is worse, the Beijing Olympics or the Qatar World Cup.  I think Qatar is probably worse because it flips the sports calendar and they actually had viable alternatives, where the IOC only had Almaty as an alternative.  

It cannot be done. Here's the problem. FIFA has given Qatar the WC. Taking it away would invite the biggest legal challenge the sports world will have seen up to that point. And the Qataris would go into it with the mindset that if they cannot host the WC, they'd take FIFA down with them, and they have the cash to do it. It would be FIFA's worse nightmare from a PR standpoint. I touched on this in another thread. In addition to the legal challenges with the Gulf rift over, you'd probably see a boycott of FIFA from the entire Arab world and maybe a few other Muslim countries who'd stage an "Islamic Cup" in protest.

In terms of players protesting, there's not near enough. The only way it would have worked would have been for their respective federations to send "B and C level squads" to the WC in Qatar while an alternative tournament was held in another location with the top squads and top players and it would have had to have been put in place years ago. Mark Cuban suggested this a couple years back.

I do wonder in hindsight if CONMEBOL, UEFA, and CONCACAF threatened a breakaway organization and started a row with FIFA over the legitimate governing body for football whether or not we would have seen change. Frankly I wouldn't mind seeing FIFA crash and burn.

[AgainstAllOdds]

Feel like this question is particularly interesting today. 

What will FIFA do about the proposed breakaway for the European Super League?

They've suggested players for the Super League teams wouldn't be allowed to play at the World Cup. Which Real Madrid President Florentino Perez responded to by saying if any players are not allowed to play in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar that they will create their own World Cup.

Could this be the end of the FIFA World Cup as we know it? Or merely just a blip... 

It would certainly be bad news for Qatar who will have effectively pumped billions and billions into what could be a tier-b tournament. The Europa League of international tournaments, if you will.

[iceman530]

what is soccer/football doing to itself.  Its a trainwreck that no one can look away from.  

Qatar is looking at the England Big 6, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Real, Barcelona, Athletico right now like........THANK YOU!  THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

[iceman530]

Holy crap the Super League just died a swift ninja death.  Imagine that, protests can work sometimes.  That was.........interesting to say the least.  

[Rob2012]

On 4/21/2021 at 5:14 AM, iceman530 said:

Holy crap the Super League just died a swift ninja death.

And thank God for that. I was forced to agree  both FIFA and Boris Johnson for a few days last week. Don't ever make me do that again!

Edited April 23, 2021 by Rob.

[iceman530]

it does throw the quandry that UEFA appears to care more about the integrity of the champions league than actual literal slave labor.  Players and fans got IMMEDIATE results after the Super League threat, against a potent organization.  One would think they could do the same thing with FIFA if the motivation and impetus was there.

[Rob2012]

It seems, despite their condemnation, FIFA was secretly backing the ESL project but had to do a uey when it all went pete tong...

 

[Quaker2001]

Just when the IOC seems like they're trying to out-do FIFA in terms of how sleazy of an organization they can be, FIFA responds with a "hold my beer" story like this.

I don't follow European football enough to have seen all the twists and turns this Super League project has taken, but what awful optics this is all creating

[iceman530]

Juventus, Real Madrid, and Barcelona are the only ones left standing.  The Italians are talking about seriously expelling Juventus from the league if they dont stop now.  I think at best........they are looking at a double digit points deduction.  Hell at this point, they should be begging for another Serie B relegation like they experienced a couple years ago.  

Spain........god, I dont even know, those are the two powerhouses.  I am so happy that Atletico Madrid looks like theyre going to pull out the title.  

Theres going to be some severe penalties for these three, that much is certain.  

Qatar has to be loving this, it has unquestionably taken the eyes off of their horrible situation.  Hell, could the Qataris be funding this behind the scenes perhaps to a degree?  Information warfare is a powerful tool, if we have learned anything in the last decade.

[StefanMUC]

Qatar is also the main sponsor of PSG, apart from the two German clubs the only one resisting the Super League call.

They were clearly pulling the right strings here.

[Palette86]

Quote

'WORLD CUP COULD BE HELD EVERY 2 YEARS' SAYS FIFA PRESIDENT GIANNI INFANTINO AT FIFA CONGRESS

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has admitted that discussions over holding the World Cup every two years are taking place. Infantino was speacking at the latest FIFA Congress in Zurich and revealed that football's governing body will 'analyse' the possibility of changing the tournament calander with World Cups currently taking place every four years.

News source:EUROSPORT

Link:https://www.eurosport.com/football/world-cup-could-be-held-every-2-years-says-fifa-president-gianni-infantino-at-fifa-congress_vid1478094/video.shtml

 

[StefanMUC]

Yeah why not. The United Arab Emirates have 7 individual emirates. Let's rotate between them and there's already one and a half decades sorted.

I'm sure the continental associations will also be super-thrilled by the idea, as will the IOC.

[iceman530]

This can only be explained as calculated deflection tactics about Qatar, no way any of this can be serious

[Rob2012]

5 hours ago, iceman530 said:

This can only be explained as calculated deflection tactics about Qatar, no way any of this can be serious

It can explained in the same way FIFA's clandestine backing of the ESL can be explained, and in the same way the ESL itself can be explained. Powerplays between FIFA, confederations and the clubs. This is FIFA trying to grab a bigger slice of the pie.