'Fifa and Uefa Cannot Avoid Their Political Duties'

If only Fifa's ethics were at least half decent

Two years is something of a lifetime in internet terms, and presumably most casual visitors passing through have presumed this blog to be long since dead, like millions of other digital diaries and documentations  founded upon the best of intentions. Random work and life events quickly caught up with us after an initial burst of righteous enthusiasm, but the thorny political issues around the coming World Cups are still there to be addressed. The human rights situation has not significantly improved in either Russia or Qatar (in fact in Russia it's probably getting worse), and the discussion is not going quieten down as those tournaments approach, no matter how much Fifa tries to dodge, fudge or ignore the pertinent questions. Still, at least Chuck Blazer and Jack Warner have cleared their desks, even if they only served as fall guys for the inherent corruption and cronyism that must still be purged from Zürich and its satellite confederations.
   
Until we start posting more coherently again, here's a piece posted today at the When Saturday Comes website entitled 'Fifa and Uefa Cannot Avoid Their Political Duties'. Sample passage:

"UEFA is apolitical," its president, Michel Platini, claimed when responding to criticism of their decision to award the 2013 European Under-21 Championship to Israel. Perhaps Israel was not a wise choice for a body that wishes to stay clear of politics. Given that he's tipped as the man to take over the Sepp Blatter's FIFA mantle in 2015, Platini should get used to the idea of politics interfering with sport. With Russia and Qatar as his first two World Cup hosts, political issues will be thumping on to his desk with the force and regularity of a riot policeman's cosh.

Most football fans hope that somewhere there exists a smoking gun that will cause FIFA to reverse its decision to hold the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. But despite the 15-page feature in France Football last week that once again threw into question the legality of the bidding process, and numerous well-documented reasons why Qatar is an execrable choice, we're stuck with the unlikely Middle East venue. As long as that remains the case, the focus will begin to shift towards what can only be described as political issues...