Michel Platini has said that the problem of Fifa is not a problem about football, because good competitions are still continuing but a problem of corruption. So Platini one of the seven candidates contesting for the coveted post of president of the Federation of International Federations (Fifa) has admitted that combating corruption and transparency will be the new incumbent’s main task.
Ironically the French football legend, a favourite for this job, is facing charges of corruption himself.
His 90-day suspension whilst Fifa investigates a 1.8 million euro payment from the world body without a written contract has affected his chances. As Fifa’s electoral committee is expected to judge the integrity of all its candidates, Platini’s bid could be compromised by his ban.
Another blow is the frontal attack by the suspended head of football’s world governing body. Sepp Blatter has publicly stated that Platini has ignited and escalated the corruption scandal engulfing Fifa.
Blatter claims that powerful nations like England and USA which lost the bid to stage the 2018 and 2022 World Cups had raked up the issue of corruption. The fallout between Blatter and Platini can have many repercussions, as the duo was once like father and son.
The All India Football Federation had indicated support for Platini’s candidature for Fifa presidentship. However with Platini’s chances on the wane, the AIFF may have to re-think their strategies. The repercussions of publicly supporting a losing candidate can be severe.
The situation is fluid and there are no front runners for this post yet. Europe will not want to lose their hold over Fifa. Of the eight presidents in its 111-year history, seven have been from Europe. However, in the 2016 Fifa presidency race, the votes of Uefa nations could get divided as there are three European candidates in the fray.
Besides Platini, the others are the multilingual 45-year-old, Swiss lawyer Gianni Infantino, general secretary of Fifa since 2009 and Jerome Champagne, a former deputy secretary-general of Fifa.
As expected the contest for Fifa presidency involves a lot of politicking. After Platini was suspended, many European nations started praising Infantino’s expertise. Europe will want to maintain its stranglehold over Fifa and so Infantino could be the dark horse in case Platini’s bid gets jettisoned because of corruption charges.
There is a similar scenario amongst the Asian candidates in the fray. At one stage, the youngest candidate 39-year-old Prince Ali Bin al Hussein, was favourite. But he is now being challenged by Asian Football Confederation president Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim al Khalifa of Bahrain. The regional votes of both Uefa and AFC could thus get split. Former players like Zico and Diego Maradona who were earlier contestants for the presidency have backed out.
So seven candidates — Prince al-Hussein, Musa Bility, Champagne, Infantino, Platini, Sheikh al-Khalifa and Tokyo Sexwale — will contest Fifa’s presidential election on February 26. Trinidad’s ex-footballer David Nakhid was not included on the list, despite having submitted his candidacy.
As the Shakira song goes It’s time for Africa. So if Uefa’s vote splits may be the South African, Tokyo Sexwale, could be Fifa’s first African president.
