But thank goodness, for the statement from the group hired by Infantino: The BDO report is more optimistic. “These reforms and improvements are still being completed, even though a wide range of measures has already been implemented. Many of the reforms described herein are unique in the world of sports governance and may also serve as a model for other sports organisations.” Makes me feel so much better that Infantino has enacted all of these reforms and improvements --- NOT! I guess the group that you hire always has to say something nice about you. Forget what those ethics and governance guys said that were hired and then fired.
In Guam, Soccer Powerbroker Is Accused of Wielding Influence Despite Ban FEB. 12, 2018 https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/12/...latest&contentPlacement=3&pgtype=sectionfront
https://www.apnews.com/b5be68df8fc3...frican-World-Cup-teams-$2M-for-player-bonuses So FIFA is advancing the African teams who qualified for the World Cup $2m each so there are no issues over player payment and the unsightly mess of players holding out, teams arriving late, etc. So...really? This just seems strange, when the whole issue of FIFA corruption had to do with money being paid to countries/confederations - this is certainly not 'normal'. So now does any country attending the World Cup have the option of asking for $2m up front? What are the qualifications for being eligible for such payments? Forget the transparency of FIFA this just seems to be FIFA currying favor with CAF. I'm VERY skeptical, even more so when I don't see anything on FIFA.com about the payment. So what vote is coming up that Infantino needed CAF's agreement on?
Uh ... seems pretty straightforward. They are giving money (it actually implies that they are giving 25% of the minimum payments they are designated to receive from the tournament before the tournament, rather than afterwards) to the 5 CAF teams that are going to Russia so we avoid the usual threats of player boycotts that we seem to get every time the World Cup rolls around. FIFA probably wants to avoid issues similar to when Trinidad and Tobago claimed they didn't have enough money to pay their player bonuses after WC2006 or similar - such as the points noted in another articles ... You can argue that there are issues of governance failure here (notably by the FAs in the relevant countries) but it hardly seems un-transparent to have it announced by AP and the DailyMail (and NY Times etc etc). J
Well, when was the last time you made a payment before you had to without receiving something of value in return? Are you saying that FIFA is really this altruistic. Color me skeptical, but this stinks a bit....especially with respect to other things (like a $12 Billion tournament vote coming up).
Half my monthly salary is "paid in advance". I paid for a proportion of my bathroom renovations before they started. I might pay for airline tickets months before I fly. What is your point? And I'm not even vaguely claiming that FIFA is being "altruistic". I claim (and the quotes were to back this up) that FIFA want to avoid the embarrassment of players from some countries threatening to boycott the finals because they fear not getting their tournament bonuses ... just like they did in 2014, and 2010 (and happened in 2006). J
My point is that FIFA is that when it comes to money, when you don't treat everyone equally, it raises questions. I too pay contractors a percentage of their fees before they start work, and pay for airline tickets ahead of time. But there are contracts and agreements in place that cover that. This payment happened right around the same time that Infantino is looking for votes to push a $25 billion 12-year deal, that UEFA doesn't like. The timing stinks. Let me ask a question -- if the countries are guaranteed the money for getting to the World Cup finals, what is the issue with paying the players and dealing with these issues, ahead of time?
Careful with that wish. If FIFA payed all WC teams in advance, then UEFA would receive the most money in advance, correct? Then detractors would argue that FIFA tried to appease UEFA with 14 advance payments, before holding a general vote. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. I hope the African teams do get their money. Much often, their WC performance was hindered by African officials which announced team prizes would be withheld, while the WC was still in progress. Same goes for Iran. Iranian players have not been payed their 2014 WC team prizes yet, as revealed by their NT coach back in November 2017.
This last question has already been asked. I know we're all meant to think that Infantino is all evil all the time, but this request is hardly a new thing. It has actually been on the agenda for months - and was reported in October last year. In fact, the initial request from the CAF nations was for ALL the base payment (ie $12.5 million per side) to be made prior to the finals - indeed, that's allegedly what Nigeria was expecting - rather than just the proportion they are going to yet. Of course, actually paying the correct final amount would involved FIFA admitting they already know who is going to win the World Cup already, so they'll probably keep that quiet. J Reference: http://www.espnfc.com.au/fifa-world...a-to-pay-world-cup-bonuses-in-advance-sources
Thanks for that reference, I hadn't seen that this started back in October. Like, I said, the timing is what struck me with the big $25 billion deal needing to be acted on quickly...but this pre-payment process started well before that deal was on the table. That makes me much less skeptical about the payment then. Thanks.
Didn't see this anywhere --- old news, but certainly supports what a lot of folks have said in the past about the 'randomness' of the WC group draws -- https://bleacherreport.com/articles...om&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=editorial
Jesus H Christ on a bike - are you freakin' serious. This is such a wonderful example of "feeding" a controversy to people (whichever cretin journalist swallowed his bait so adeptly) who are utterly pig-ignorant of history but really really really really really want to find a conspiracy to report - and then slam it down the gullets of moronic mouth breathers desperate to dutifully fulfil their daily quota of "five-minutes-of-hate" (copywrite G.Orwell 1948). Brazil were in Group A - as defending champions. (you may recall, defending champions back then qualified automatically). They were to play the first match of the tournament - like Germany in 1994, and Argentina in 1990 and probably tons of others - I can't be arsed to check). They were placed there before the draw. France were placed in Group C before the draw. They wanted France to "play in specific stadiums". The winners of Group A and Group C would not meet until the final. This was known at the time of the draw (the winners of Group A would also not meet the winners of Group B, C, F or G until the final). France was also placed in Group C so they would not meet Brazil until the final if they both won their groups (or, technically, both finished second but I don't think that was the expectation). This was known at the time of the draw - it was discussed on newsgroups (probably here if it existed, definitely on rec.sport.soccer). It was noted as "hosts right" (as much as anything) to ensure that their team played in the biggest venues and would maximise the French population's ability to see the team (ie, Marseilles, Saint-Denis, Lyon). This is what every host has done - chose where their guys played. You can claim this was unfair, but to claim it was a conspiracy, or even vaguely hidden from anybody with an IQ above that of tepid pond water, is just silly. There was no "rigged draw" in this case - because there was no draw made at all. To claim this is "rigging the draw" is just typical pot-stirring by a convicted criminal (Platini) and its basic purpose it just to misdirect your attention away from the actual stuff that he is getting up to to this day. J
I know totally agree with this... amazing how much controversy is being made out of absolutely nothing. You should see the comment sections of those articles. Holders were placed in Group A, hosts in Group C or vice-versa.. was the same in 1994 where group A winners (Romania) + Group C winners (Germany) could not potentially meet until the final. 1990 same thing Group A winner Italy and Group B winner (Argentina's group won by Cameroon) were placed in different knockout brackets so they couldn't meet. This has changed now that holders no longer get preferential treatment in qualifying or playing the opening match so they're thrown into the pot with all the other top seeds. I can't believe the headlines that are being made out of that though.
In looking back at the draws from 1990 and 1994, I see what you guys are saying. The host nations were drawn into groups that by definition would not meet the top seed until the final. Though in each case, it was done a little differently than in 1998. In 90 and 94, the hosts were in Group A (Italy was given the #1 seed also in 90 as hosts even though they weren't seeded in the top 6 on merit). Then the next seed was given Group B and the bracket was such those two groups don't meet until the final. In 1998 the #1 seed now went to the defending champion (Brazil) even though Germany were #1 according the FIFA ranking. France was seeded 8th (as the host was given a seed) even though they were 14th in the ranking. Technically, in a 'normal bracket draw' you would expect the 1 and 8 seeds to be on the same side of the draw. That they weren't was interesting -- that it was agreed before hand to modify that is interesting - not necessarily terrible. I get that. What putting France into a pot that 'allowed them to play in the biggest stadiums' had a side effect. Spain as the 4th seed was put in a group where the winner had to play the winner of Brazil's group in the second knock out stage (that became Nigeria) one round earlier than a 'normal bracket draw'. Why would Platini be saying this now? What's the benefit?
No it isn't even remotely interesting, FIFA doesn't use seeds that way. They never have. Normally they only use seeding to determine who should be top seeds. Then they add the host as top seed and a few times they also added the holding champ as top seed. The host and champ then gets put in pre-determined groups with the rest are randomly drawn. At some point they took the "#1", "#2" and so on and turned that order in to "group A", "group B" and so on (but only for the top seeds). The one thing I don't think FIFA has ever done is a US style seeded bracket. It wouldn't really fit well as their seeding is done before a group stage, not before a knock-out stage.
Ghana has dissolved its national football association after its president was filmed apparently accepting a "cash gift". Kwesi Nyantakyi was pictured taking $65,000 (£48,000) from an undercover reporter pretending to be a businessman keen to invest in Ghanaian football. Mr Nyantakyi is vice-president of the Confederation of African Football and also a member of the Fifa Council. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-44406535 A World Cup-bound referee and a member of the Fifa Council have been accused of accepting cash gifts by an undercover investigation into African football. Kenya's Adel Range Marwa, one of Africa's World Cup-bound referees, will no longer be in Russia after being filmed receiving a $600 'gift'. Marwa was given money by an undercover reporter posing as an official of a top Ghanaian football side. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/44396127 More to follow, I imagine.
I keep seeing that info about referee Marwa repeated on every news outlet. However, Marwa is not on the March 2018 list for FIFA referees of Russia 2018 WC. Field referees: http://resources.fifa.com/image/upl...-world-cuptm.pdf?cloudid=ygppy1zdhjaxituykarn VAR referees: http://resources.fifa.com/image/upl...ch-officials.pdf?cloudid=dlf1vsqmmpucihtftsu0 I just do not understand how that Kenyan referee is "WC-bound".
Thanks. Kind of weird that FIFA did not use his actual surname. Plus, his first name is Aden, not Adel. Not even sure where "Range" comes from. Participated as linesman on Confederations Cup 2017 (MEX 2 - NZL 1). February 2017 profile of Aden Marwa Okendo on Kenyan press. https://www.sde.co.ke/thenairobian/...n-marwa-continues-to-fly-the-kenyan-flag-high
Interesting article about how Infantino has been bending over backwards to please Russia.....looks like he's going to end up being just as bad as Blatter..... http://www.espn.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/23714076/inside-battle-russian-influence-fifa
Damning article about how Infantino has been bending over backwards to please Russia.....looks like he is just as bad as Blatter..... Fixed your post...
I've personally always thought he was worse than Blatter (for all Blatter's considerable faults). With Blatter there was an underlying method to his overlying stupidity - he suggested crazy ideas whenever a confederation boss was about to get into legal troubles, he generally pushed for more power to smaller confederations - and he hated the English. But that was about it - you sort of knew what he wanted and who he would butter up to keep in power. With Infantino, I fear he would do literally anything to football to keep his position. Literally anything. J
FIFA has officially eradicated corruption (nope, not at all). The corrupt can rest a bit easier, whistleblowers not so much. Again, Infantino, he's worse than Blatter. 1029149165228457984 is not a valid tweet id
Wow it just gets worse. At least the Olympic movement sorted themselves out but FIFA are just the worst of dictatorships. Only a war will now stop the dreaded 2022 tournament.