Whose time is it? By Patrick Omorodion

There is a saying in our local parlance that ‘if one man own no spoil, another man own no go better’.? This means that “One man’s loss is another man’s gain.”

In 2015, then president of FIFA, Joseph Sepp Blatter was in his fifth term as president of football’s world body when he ran into hot waters of financial scandals.

He was investigated for a controversial 2-million Swiss franc payment made to then UEFA president Michel Platini.

Both of them were tried and however, cleared of fraud charges by a Swiss federal court.

The probe was part of broader racketeering, wire fraud, and money laundering investigations into FIFA officials, which led to Blatter’s resignation in 2015 after he was suspended.

Then senior vice president and CAF president, Issa Hayatou took over in acting capacity pending the election in 2016.

Hayatou did not step forward to contest mainly because of his failing health..

One expected that since the most senior vice president, Hayatou, who was then CAF president was not contesting, African federations would support the only African who joined the race, Mosima Gabriel “Tokyo” Sexwale, a South African businessman.

No. Instead CAF threw their weight behind Gianni Infantino, a Swiss like Blatter. As a result, Sexwale withdrew from the race even before voting started. Europe naturally backed Infantino who was their own.

But because of the backing of Africa for oil rich Bahrain candidate and president of the Asian Confederation, Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, Infantino couldn’t win at the first ballot.

At the time, FIFA congress had 207 total votes and Infantino won in the second round with a majority vote of 115, ostensibly from the African voters who switched after the first ballot sensing that their first choice wasn’t going to clinch it.

Ten years after, again about a year to the FIFA election, its president is embroiled in another controversy which is looking likely to consume him especially as his home con- federation, UEFA is leading the assault.

Their initial grouse was that Infantino was allowing US president Donald Trump interfere with the organization of their cherished product, the World Cup.

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They kicked when Infantino allowed a referee’s decision on the pitch to be upturned after a telephone call by Trump.

With all that happened during the World Cup and earned him enemies, Infantino didn’t allow the anger to douse but quickly contrived a plan to sell a 21% stake in future World Cup revenues to private investors without consulting other stakeholders. This was the last straw that has led to a plethora of calls for his resignation. So when the 211 (up from 207 in 2016) member associations gather in Rabat, Morocco in March next year for the FIFA Congress to elect the next FIFA president, will Infantino survive as those who had earlier pledged their support are withdrawing it now?

FIFA’s current Vice Presidents are Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa (Senior Vice-President, from AFC- Asia), Alejandro Domínguez ( CONMEBOL – South America), Aleksander Čeferin ( UEFA- Europe(, Lambert Maltock (OFC- Oceania) Patrice Motsepe (CAF -Africa), Victor Montagliani ( CONCACAF – Central/ North America and the Caribbeans) as well as Sándor Csányi and Debbie Hewitt, both also from UEFA.

Sheikh Salman contested against Infantino in 2016 but lost. Is he ready to challenge him again this time as his Europe base is at ‘war’ with him and have lost confidence in him?

Already Europe as well as Central/North America have vouched to withdraw their support for him, with Europe threatening to withdraw from the World Cup if he remains FIFA president.

Though South America have voiced their disapproval of his style of communication, they said they won’t withdraw their support for him.

Africa are united in their support for his commercialization plan which they say would help them get funds for football development, as well as his ambition for another term in office.

As it is now, who will last laugh, UEFA or Infantino? UEFA is the most powerful bloc in FIFA because the bulk of money for the body’s activities comes from Europe. If CONCACAF joins them, there is not much CAF and CONMEBOL would do to swing victory for Infantino.

The 211 confederations’ votes are divided among the six regional groups thus: Europe – 55 votes, Africa – 54 votes, Asia – 47 votes, North/Central America and the Caribbeans – 35 votes, South America – 10 votes and Oceania – 10 votes.

With Europe, Asia and North & Central America with the Caribbean countries already at daggers drawn with Infan- tino, votes of Africa, South America and Oceania delegates won’t save Infantino from defeat, all things being equal.

But who are the likely opposition candidates Europe, the champions of ‘Infantino must go’, as it were, is looking at?

Even though no candidate has declared his or her interest in the race, the names that have popped up include Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, Paris Saint-Germain president, Aleksander Čeferin, UEFA president and a leading critic of Infantino.

The only woman in the picture is Lise Klaveness, the out- spoken president of the Norwegian Football Association who also announced the withdrawal of her support for Infantino. From CONCACAF, is their president and FIFA vice president Victor Montagliani, a Canadian businessman. 

Skeikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa apart from being president of the Asian Football Confederation, is the Senior vice president of FIFA.

He was up against Infantino before but will he try his luck again next year, especially as he has been in the forefront of those pushing back against some of Infantino’s controversial ideas. So the question is, whose time is it?

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