Categories
Hosting

FIFA Bribes: provisional suspensions

http://bit.ly/dtwp1b


Stung by the revelations of the Sunday Times, FIFA moved into damage control mode on Wednesday. The world body provisionally suspended executive committee members Amos Adamu of Nigeria and Reynald Temarii from Tahiti and four other officials as it investigates the World Cup vote-selling scandal.

A second official from Tahiti, Ahongalu Fusimalohi, is among the four former executive committee members also targeted by the probe. The other men, regrettably, are all Africans: Slim Aloulou (Tunisia), Amadou Diakite (Mali), and Ismael Bhamjee (Botswana). A reminder of how poor governance continues to hinder the progress of African football. And at a time of catastrophic corporate scandals on a planetary scale, this latest mess in Zurich demonstrates again how global sport, business, and politics are inextricably linked.

FIFA’s ethics panel (sic!) is moving quickly with the investigation to limit the negative publicity and to ensure that selection of the hosts of the 2018 and 2022 tournaments goes ahead as planned on December 2.

Read full article here.

Share/Save
Categories
Video

Goldblatt Draws Crowd at Football Scholars Forum


David Goldblatt, author of the monumental The Ball is Round: A Global History of Football, brought in the largest crowd yet at the Football Scholars Forum. FSF convenor Alex Galarza reports the group had an excellent discussion on globalization, politics, class and capital in football’s history.

The FSF is an academic book club based in the History Department at Michigan State University. Its members have varied research interests related to the ‘beautiful game’. The group brings together authors, professors, graduate students, journalists and fans to discuss works on fútbol in a relaxed setting. Contact the Football Scholars Forum at galarza1@msu.edu

Share/Save
Categories
Players Video

Eto’o Scores Goal Against Racism



On Sunday, October 17, 2010, history was made in the Italian serie A: a match was stopped due to fans’ racist chants. It happened at the Sant’Elia stadium in Cagliari (on the island of Sardinia). Just two minutes in, referee Paolo Tagliavento had enough of the monkey chants from the Cagliari ultras directed at Inter striker Samuel Eto’o.

Tagliavento blew his whistle, explained his decision to the two captains, then ordered the fourth official to have this announcement made over the stadium’s public address system: ‘If racist chants persist, the match will be suspended.’ It was repeated twice.

After the announcement no monkey chants poisoned the atmosphere. In a delicious twist to this sad affair, Eto’o went on to score the only goal of the match and celebrated by ‘monkeying’ around!

Share/Save
Categories
Hosting

FIFA Bribes = Money for ‘Development’

Over the years, FIFA’s multibillion dollar revenues have had virtually no impact on grassroots football in Africa, Asia, Central and South America. One of the main reasons is that football development programs are often little more than a cover for corruption and bribery. As muckraker Andrew Jennings demonstrated in his book Foul! The Secret World of FIFA: Bribes, Vote-rigging and Ticket Scandals, FIFA vice-president Jack Warner of Trinidad and Tobago mastered the art of pocketing millions in just this way. The GOAL program in Africa has had similar outcomes.

Now investigative reporting by the Sunday Times of London gives us video recordings of two FIFA executive committee members — Reynald Temarii (Tahiti), president of the Oceania Football Confederation, and Amos Adamu from Nigeria — demanding bribes from two reporters posing as American businessmen in exchange for votes in support of the US bid to host the 2018 World Cup. (The US has since withdrawn its 2018 bid to focus on 2022.)

Temarii allegedly asked for £1.3 million and Adamu £500,000 with half to be paid upfront for a ‘personal project’. (Read article here.)

How did The Times reporters know how to ‘work’ the system? FIFA insiders like Amadou Diakite (Mali) of the referees’ committee told them to offer bribes of around $1 million. Diakite also suggested ‘Leaving the member to decide what he is going to do with the amount is the safest way to get his vote’.

FIFA stated it will study the allegation. We’ll be holding our breath.

Share/Save
Categories
Video

The Game of Their Lives: Footballer among the Chilean Miners Rescued



We celebrate the Chilean miners’ rescue! Among these remarkable men was Franklin Lobos, former professional footballer and member of the 1984 Chilean Olympic team. After 69 days entombed 700 meters underground, Franklin emerged from the ‘Phoenix’ capsule to embrace his family and juggle a football.

Ivan Zamorano, the former Real Madrid and Inter striker who played with Lobos in the 1980s, recently said: “I think that down there, trapped, he has tapped into that energy you saw when he played; an emotional man who threw the whole team behind the game. I am sure he is very important to keeping them alive down there.”

Read a profile of Lobos in The Guardian here.

Share/Save
Categories
Hosting

SABC Football Coverage in the Spotlight

http://www.madamandeve.co.za/week_of_cartns.php

Football is almost never covered in the editorial (“Opinion & Analysis”) pages of our local daily newspaper (2010 World Cup excepted, of course).  But SABC’s failure to broadcast the Sierra Leone – South Africa match from Freetown sparked this response from the editors at The Witness (12 October 2010).

The SABC continues to do a disservice to football fans with its woeful coverage of the sport, especially of matches involving the national team, Bafana Bafana. First there was the decision to show Bafana matches delayed in the build-up to the World Cup, which surely must have been a first for any host national of an event of that magnitude.

The SABC’s latest bungle of failing to cover South Africa’s crucial African Nations Cup qualifier against Sierra Leone in Freetown on Sunday left many fans of the national team disappointed and outraged.

There have been calls for the SA Football Association to take the rights to broadcast Bafana games away from the national broadcaster when they come up for renegotiation in April and hand them to either SuperSport or e.tv.

Given the SABC’s treatment of the national team — prioritising soapies over Bafana matches — this would not be an unpopular decision. It is just hoped that a suitable arrangement can be made where Bafana games are still widely available, including to those who cannot afford satellite television.

Share/Save
Categories
Hosting

South Africans Betrayed: Public Broadcaster Fails to Show National Team Match



As I sat in front of the box a few minutes ago to enjoy the Battle of Freetown — a crucial 2012 Afcon qualifier between Sierra Leone and South Africa — national broadcaster SABC told us that it was not showing the match. According to news reports, ‘It had emerged on Friday that the SABC had not yet made plans to ensure the game in Freetown would be televised’. 49 million Bafana fans are enraged. Betrayed by a public broadcaster that legally forces South Africans to pay annual fees for pathetic programming and a multibillion rand debt.

Update: SAFA CEO Leslie Sedibe revealed that “For the Sierra Leone away fixture we offered SABC space in the chartered flight and we were unfortunately informed that their crew’s visas were not ready by the time the team departed for Freetown on Friday morning.” Read the story here.

Share/Save