Kaizero Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/grant_wahl/02/15/blatter.presidency/index.html It's time for someone to depose Sepp Blatter as FIFA's leader Seppsis \sep´sis\ n The presence of toxins in FIFA, world soccer's governing body, under current president Sepp Blatter. After careful consideration, I have an announcement to make: I'm running for the presidency of FIFA in the election to be held on June 1. And no, I'm not kidding. Have you seen who else is running? That's right: Sepp Blatter, the 74-year-old Swiss strongman atop the world's most popular sport, is campaigning for his fourth term. Blatter's most prominent rival, Qatar's Mohamed Bin Hammam, may run as well, but he's just another FIFA insider in an election that desperately needs an outsider. So I'll raise my hand. Someone has to. It gets kind of old hearing the world's soccer fans complain about Blatter without anyone trying to provide an alternative. And make no mistake, FIFA needs to change. The vote in December that chose the hosts for the 2018 and '22 World Cups was just the latest evidence that FIFA is far from a clean organization. Two members of FIFA's executive committee were suspended last October after being caught by The Sunday Times of London trying to sell their World Cup votes. Why, Blatter himself admits that FIFA's reputation has been tarnished under his watch. Sepp's solution? "Trust us," he says. Seriously? That's like trusting a Tour de France winner to oversee cycling's antidoping program. Unlike the International Olympic Committee, FIFA has never had its Salt Lake City moment, a bribery-and-real-estate scandal involving at least 20 IOC members that forced the organization to enact serious reforms. Nor has Blatter's FIFA made it a priority to include more women in positions of influence, as IOC president Jacques Rogge has done. Who's the most powerful woman in FIFA? Good question. The ruling 24-man executive committee is exactly that: all men. Even FIFA's women's committee is chaired by two men. Meanwhile, Blatter has been an equal-opportunity offender, offering his suggestions for women's soccer ("tighter shorts" and "a more female aesthetic") and saying that gays and lesbians "should refrain from any sexual activities" at World Cup '22 in Qatar, where homosexuality is against the law. So, yeah, that Nobel Peace Prize that Blatter has been angling for may not be on its way. Me, I don't need any Nobels, but as FIFA president I'll push for the changes Blatter has been unwilling to endorse. Instant replay? I'll make sure there's a video-review process for close calls on the goal line. (Remember Frank Lampard's unawarded World Cup goal for England last summer?) Referees? I'll make sure the World Cup has the best whistle-blowers -- with no limits per country -- and require them to meet with pool reporters after every game to explain controversial calls. Stupid yellow cards? I'll make sure players no longer see yellow for removing their jerseys after scoring a goal. Think about it: Spain's Andrés Iniesta got the same punishment for celebrating the game-winning goal in the World Cup final that Dutch thug Nigel de Jong received for karate kicking an opponent in the chest. As the ultimate outsider I'll bring FIFA into the 21st century by enacting the reforms no apparatchik in the old boy network would dare propose. For starters, I'll name a woman as general secretary, FIFA's most powerful appointed position. I'll clean up FIFA the only way possible: by releasing all of its internal documents, WikiLeaks-style, and commissioning an independent investigation using the guidelines of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. And I'll push for term limits to prevent any FIFA president (including myself) from serving more than two four-year terms in office. Consider, Blatter is one of only two FIFA presidents in the last 37 years! No wonder his FIFA has as much transparency and credibility as the Mubarak regime did. Besides, if FIFA is committed to awarding World Cups to countries that haven't hosted them before (Qatar, Russia, South Africa), then here's another chance to break ground, by electing an American FIFA president for the first time. I actually think I would beat Blatter if the election were left up to the world's soccer fans (instead of the current system of one vote per FIFA member nation). Now I just need to persuade one country to heed the popular will and nominate me for president by the April 1 deadline. It could be Papua New Guinea. It could be Equatorial Guinea. The point is that a true FIFA outsider needs to run. Plus, my candidacy has precedents. The first FIFA president was a sports journalist, and so were two of the seven others -- including, once upon a time, Sepp Blatter. FIFA's newest vice president, Jordan's Prince Ali, is a Princeton graduate in his mid-30s with a short résumé in soccer administration. Hey, so am I! All that's left is to come up with a compelling campaign slogan. I'm FIFA's AntiSepptic? Cure the Blatter Infection? Or how about just, Kick Him Out! I'm open to any of your ideas. Soccer fans of the world unite! It's time to take back your game. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 FIFA makes loadsa money ergo Blatter does a good job, no? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Village Idiot Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 "Dutch thug Nigel de Jong", gets my vote for that only Wait, I don't vote. Good luck with that then. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Village Idiot Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 That said, I hope the yanks get pissed off enough at FIFA that they go all Department of Justice on them, like they did to the IOC. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaizero Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 I think that's the general idea tbh, creating enough awareness to get an actual proper movement against FIFA going as it's rather clear he'll have no chance at getting the position in an organization as corrupt as FIFA. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mantis Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Anything that brings FIFA or Blatter to its knees is good for me. Been following Wahl on Twitter. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
madras Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 theres a website somewhere in the east that has a forum and the conversation is similar......bahrain or yemen or somewhere like that. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElDiablo Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Should do himself a favour and start referring to it as football from now on. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
M4 Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Bringing true Fair Play into the game should be high on the list of prerogatives. Hard to imagine how anyone could be worse than Blatter... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest toonarmymia Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 :clap: His first resolution as FIFA president is to change it to soccer (FISA) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shak Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 "As the ultimate outsider I'll bring FIFA into the 21st century by enacting the reforms no apparatchik in the old boy network would dare propose. For starters, I'll name a woman as general secretary, FIFA's most powerful appointed position." Or you could appoint the person most qualified for the job, perhaps? Obviously hasn't got a hope in hell of winning this and is just looking to boost his own profile, but hopefully can cause Blatter and his goons some hassle in the process. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EthiGeordie Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Anybody is better than Blatter and this guy will do for me Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tooj Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Anybody is better than Blatter and this guy will do for ke People said the same about when Freddy sold up. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EthiGeordie Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Anybody is better than Blatter and this guy will do for ke People said the same about when Freddy sold up. yes but I still Rate Ashley better than Fat Freddy... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bad Mongo Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 For starters, I'll name a woman as general secretary, FIFA's most powerful appointed position. For me, it fell down here. Employing a women just because she's a women is no less sex discrimination than avoiding female employment in the first place.. Really? You would only have a point if that was the sole qualification needed. Besides, when appointing women for the sake of appointing more women, you simply have to appoint women, and not men. This is about the organisation itself, not some silly "equal opportunities" action. There's no irony to it, no more than it would be for Mike Ashley to appoint someone with some knowledge of football as chairman. (Actually, come to think of it -- that would be ironic.) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaizero Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 It is the sole qualification he's pointing to lol He says there's not enough women in the FIFA organisation (he's right) and says to rectify this he'll appoint of women in the most powerful position. It's for the sake of it. It is not the sole qualification, in more extensive interviewes he mentiones the two people he have in mind for the position and their respective qualifications, which are more than good enough. You'd think most "presidents" would have a fair idea of who they want to run things with rather than jump in blindly. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Village Idiot Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 While women's football is an afterthought around here, it is very big in the US. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
80 Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 For starters, I'll name a woman as general secretary, FIFA's most powerful appointed position. For me, it fell down here. Employing a women just because she's a women is no less sex discrimination than avoiding female employment in the first place. Of course more women is ideal (particularly the heads of women footy ) but I'm surprised the irony (of the above pledge) is lost on him. Saying that...good luck to him. Think you're taking him too seriously... He's just a stalking horse - he's never going to get elected so he's going to make some sometimes overly strong points to highlight the problems FIFA already has instead and get everybody talking. Don't agree with a chunk of his points, but I appreciate his efforts to shake things up. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest toonarmymia Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 While women's football is an afterthought around here, it is very big in the US. Julie Foudy is my guess for his female appointee Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaizero Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 Should do himself a favour and start referring to it as football from now on. He's on it. "Trying to force myself to say "football" instead of "soccer" in interviews with foreign media. This is not easy. Please bear with me." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaizero Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 While women's football is an afterthought around here, it is very big in the US. Julie Foudy is my guess for his female appointee Aye, it's her and Steffi Jones that are his prospective choices. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JH Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 I'd give the job to Kelly Brook. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bmoregeordie Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 This is a joke run for office. The whole point is to point out how ridiculous and corrupt it is for Blatter to run unopposed. He doesn't need to boost his profile. He is by far the most recognized and respected American foot writer. He covers what he wants for Sports Illustrated, and he could get a job at ESPN or wherever in a heartbeat. The woman thing is probably also a joke, as is FISA. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Village Idiot Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 To be frank, I hope some federation is daft enough to give him the nod, but I suspect they'll fear Blatter's reprisal. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ameritoon Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 I think he's serious in doing this, but it's more to make a statement and raise awareness on how corrupt FIFA is. Like said, he doesn't need to raise his profile. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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