by rick olivares
On May 29, FIFA will conduct its elections for its
new president. Incumbent Joseph Blatter, who has been at the helm of the
federation since 1998, will be challenged by current FIFA Vice President Ali
bin Al-Hussein of Jordan, Dutch football association president Michael van
Praag, and former Portugal star Luis Figo.
Personally, all the controversies of FIFA in recent
years came under the watch of Blatter. Two decades atop FIFA is more than
enough. It sure is embarrassing to see and hear him booed whenever he makes
official appearances or when he hands out awards. It is time to hear a new
voice.
Let’s take a look the different candidates outside
the 78-year old Blatter.
FIFA vice president Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan.
The 39-year old is the third son of the late King Hussein of Jordan. In the
sport, he is the President of the Jordan Football Association. He also founded
the West Asian Football Federation where he was able to enlist 13 countries.
Prince Ali championed the lifting of
the ban of female football’s hijab and was one of those who called for the
investigation and publication of alleged corruption surrounding the bids of
Russia and Qatar to host the World Cup.
Michael
van Praag is the
current President of the Royal Dutch Football Association and the executive
committee of UEFA. He was the former chairman of Ajax Amsterdam. The 68-year
old Van Praag once officiated in Dutch amateur football matches before he made
his fortune in electronics and became chairman of Ajax. Regarding his declaring
for the presidency of FIFA, van Praag said, “I'm very worried about the deteriorating situation at
FIFA. The public opinion, the trustworthiness, is very bad, and with me a lot
of people in the world believe so.”
Lastly, there’s 42-year old Luis Figo who once starred for Portugal, Barcelona, and Real Madrid
in an incredible 20-year career. He won the Ballon D’Or in 2000, the FIFA
Player of the Year in 2001, and was named to FIFA’s list of 100 greatest living
players. He currently works with Internazionale as an club ambassador and is a
founder of Network90 that works with footballers. He is fluent in five
languages.
In an interview with CNN, Figo bared his reasons for
challenging Blatter: "I care about football,
so what I'm seeing regarding the image of FIFA -- not only now but in the past
years -- I don't like it. If you search FIFA on the internet you see the first
word that comes out: scandal -- not positive words. It's that we have to change
first and try to improve the image of FIFA. Football deserves much better than
this.”
Prince Ali and Figo bring the exuberance of youth to an
staid and old boy network in FIFA. Furthermore, of the four, I like Van Praag
and Figo as candidates as they came up from the system and did not inherit their
positions because of politics, social status, or wealth.
However, between the two, I like to believe that Figo
not being encumbered by old boy politics and the bureaucracy that has tainted
FIFA will be an advantage. His personal life has not been rocked by any
scandal. He played very recently and is very much in touch with the current
challenges that face football. The fact, that many players back up his
candidacy means they believe he has the right heart, mind, temperament, and
personality to handle the federation.
FIFA used to be run by organization people – the late
Joao Havelange as well as Blatter have all been beset by scandal and the sport
really needs a fresh breath of air. It will be a tough battle however for van
Praag and Figo as the voting members of FIFA have been in place for a while now
and would love for nothing more than to hold on to their positions and maintain
the status quo.
Hopefully, come May 29, the people who vote will come
to their senses and choose the right man with the right qualifications and not
what was given to him on a silver platter.
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