If anyone wanted any further evidence about what a dodgy organisation FIFA is then the enquiry by Michael Garcia surely supplies it. The FA cooperates with it and gets slammed for its pains. The Russian FA stonewalls and gets no criticism. Meanwhile, we are none the wiser as to why the bidding process was foreshortened so that 2018 and 2022 were taken together. (Except for the obvious reason – that there would be more votes to trade creatively.) And as for the reason that a summer tournament should be awarded to Qatar where temperatures are too high for football to be actually played? All one is left with are the darkest possible explanations.
It stinks. But what is amazing is the inaction by government. Eventually governments and regulators turned on the banks and investigated the Libor and forex scandals. Billions of dollars of fines later, a semblance of justice is being done. But football? Despite it being a business with a massive following and a turnover to match, it is allowed to do things that no other British business could get away with. A knowledge economy is a talent economy with a premium on the right people. So, the growing and innovating part of our economy is getting more like football. But do pharma companies and tech start-ups claim to own their staff as football teams do, and then trade them like slaves? Or do family members of talented staff become agents and intermediaries who have to have a piece of the action? The whole collusive apparatus of football finance would not last unchallenged in another industry.
Yet, with the exception of lone voices like Kate Hoey, there is little parliamentary debate about this. Time, perhaps, to follow the United States. It has adopted the ‘Al Capone’ strategy – if you can’t nail the main crime just investigate their taxes. It’s brought low the marvellously named Chuck Blazer (a minor Martin Amis character surely?). Blazer was the biggest wheel in US football and responsible for the elevation of the Caribbean’s Jack Walker to power. Conspicuous consumption brought Blazer down. He had a flat in Trump Towers – and another one for his cats. He had a Hummer for driving around Manhattan. It was rarely used but had a parking place at an exorbitant rent. When the Internal Revenue Service moved in he began to sing like a canary. In the end, the US taxman will have done more to clean up world football than the footballing authorities themselves.
Now European governments, including ours, should take the lead from the US. As Woodward and Bernstein were told – ‘follow the money’.
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I saw Alan Johnson speak at a fundraiser for Karen Buck recently. Two of the party’s stars together. (It probably shouldn’t be allowed – like the ban on the royal family flying together. We could ill-afford losing both Alan and Karen.) He was, of course, brilliant. Now, this isn’t another bout of leadership speculation, though I personally feel he earned the right to be prime minister the day he swaggered up Downing Street in Raybans. No, it is instead a plea for more members of parliament and shadow cabinet ministers to copy AJ.
What he did in his short speech was to talk about the changes Labour made. The most vivid for me was the reduction in waiting times from 18 months (and longer) in 1997 to 18 weeks (and often less) in 2010. But there are so many. Workers on £1 an hour in 1997 whose earnings were transformed by the national minimum wage. The two million council houses brought up to decent homes standards. The strength of Alan’s speech was that he always compared what we inherited with what we delivered. Someone at Brewer’s Green needs to get his notes and bash it into a script everyone can use on the doorstep.
Now, I know that no one gets elected on their record. You get elected on your promises for the future. But delivery in the past gives credibility for our pledges. We did it once, we can do it again. Anyway, not defending our record is madness. All that happens is that we are attacked by the Scottish National party and the Tories and their lies go unchallenged. Time for AJ’s magic mantra.
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John McTernan is former political secretary at 10 Downing Street and was director of communications for former prime minister of Australia Julia Gillard. He writes The Last Word column on Progress and tweets @johnmcternan
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The normal Footie-fan could care less about the convoluted [alleged] back-handers, Swiss Gold Piaget/Rolex/Omega watches @£35 000- and Lamborghin/Ferrari Gifts and shenanigans up at FIFI or over at FA. Any one got the time? All they want to see is a good game of football, less hooliganism,cheaper Season Tickets, value-4-money grub and drinks on sale at half time and clean toilets. Oh ya, and parking space that doesn’t cost equivalent of a bottle of premium Scotch.
Even if you paid the players £150 000 a week + Perks and Sponsorships – oh ya, you do ha! – but even so, the Beautiful Game is here to stay and is a week-end relaxant for many Billions world-wide. Sociologists might even venture Footie gets rid of destructive, war-like emotions.
Keep the Britain/UK’s FA as clean as a Ref’s Whistle you got no problems. I contend there are not many good role-models at FIFI for kids and seeing this in-fighting & alleged backhanders and Gold gifts is not fair to pass on to next generation youngsters who absolutely idolise their footie-heroes and FA Board members. FIFI bent? Its a damned shame on the Game and a bad reflection on sport in general to even wash this dirty laundry in Public. Is FIFI bent? Dunno, but that’s their look-out. Keep ‘our’ FA Board of Directors spotless – or fire the lot.
PS The footballers themselves should speak out on this – hey Becks, Ronaldo, Wayne? Any comment? – we trust your opinions, true. You players are being played.