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Tag: FIFA

  • FIFA Monitoring FAS Situation

    FIFA Monitoring FAS Situation

    The Football Association of Singapore (FAS) Electoral Committee (EC), which oversees the processes leading up to the FAS election – confirmed yesterday that the April 29 congress will go on.

    This is despite national sports agency Sport Singapore filing a police report against National Football League (NFL) club Tiong Bahru FC, whose chairman is Bill Ng, one of two presidential candidates for the FAS election.

    Ng’s Game Changers are challenging former FAS vice-president Lim Kia Tong’s Team LKT to earn the mandate of the association’s 44 affiliates next Saturday.

    Yesterday, SportSG revealed that it filed the police report on Wednesday night about an alleged misuse of funds at Tiong Bahru.

    Shortly after the announcement, the FAS’ offices at the Jalan Besar Stadium were raided, along with the clubhouses of Woodlands Wellington, Hougang United and Tiong Bahru.

    Despite the ongoing investigations, the FAS’ EC chairman K Bala Chandran said in response to media queries that there “is no reason for any disruption of the elections”.

    “The Ad Hoc Electoral Committee (EC) has no power to postpone or call off the election of the FAS Council and as at this moment knows of no reason for any disruption of the elections,” he said in a statement.

    “The duties of the EC are primarily to supervise the administrative process relating to the FAS Council elections.

    “Bearing this in mind, the EC is of the view that it will not be proper for the EC to comment and or give its views on the matters which are being raised in the press and media.”

    However, The New Paper has learnt that world football governing body Fifa is monitoring the FAS situation.

    Sources have revealed that there is a possibility of a postponement of the election, preceded by the installation of a normalisation committee as was the case in the lead-up to the Indonesian Football Federation (PSSI) election on Nov 10 last year.

    The PSSI were slapped with a ban for government interference in a failure to resolve a dispute between the sports ministry and football association – they were barred from football activity from June 2014 to May 2016 – before the normalisation committee was installed and the election was carried out.

    But it is not clear if a similar fate awaits Singapore.

    “In relation to your query, Fifa is monitoring the situation concerning FAS. Please understand that we can’t speculate on potential future scenarios,” a Fifa spokesman told TNP.

    Members of the local fraternity are calling for a postponement of the election, at least until investigations are concluded.

    “Looking at the current scenario, maybe a deferment or postponement of the election to a later date could be in order,” said ex-Geylang International chairman Patrick Ang, who is unaffiliated at this election.

    “This way, the affiliates can have a clearer picture, to make an informed choice in an important vote that will decide the leadership of football.”

    Former Singapore international Seak Poh Leong agreed.

    “This situation also has several implications for Lim (Kia Tong), so there is a logical reason for a delay,” said Seak.

    Lim, a former FAS vice-president, was still in office at the time several of the incidents under investigation occurred.

    CAUTIOUS

    Former FAS general secretary Steven Yeo urged all parties concerned to take a cautious, consultative approach to the matter – to ensure that Singapore does not get slapped by a Fifa ban for what could be perceived as third-party interference in football affairs.

    “If the authorities cannot assess the case by the election, how will affiliates vote? That may not go down well with the international community,” he said. “In the current circumstances, it is best that the FAS, SportSG – and their legal teams – have a consultative dialogue with Fifa.”

    Despite the uncertainty surrounding their leader Ng, it was business as usual for the Game Changers who met up with NFL clubs and women’s football sides at Bussorah Street last night to discuss plans to develop their respective games.

    Ng was not present.

    Harman Ali shared his team’s plans to secure medical coverage, links with foreign clubs, more recognition through higher prize money and an awards night, and training courses for coaches and officials.

    Zaki Ma’arof touched on a business model which could take the form of a cafe and facilities being run like a cooperative, where profits from membership and sales flow back to the NFL and Women’s League clubs to make them sustainable.

    Arriola Buenaventura Alphonsus, president of NFL Division 2 side Starlight Soccerites FC, one of 16 clubs and affiliates represented at the meeting last night, said: “Why not give them a chance to fulfil their plans and prove their worth?

    “What I feel after hearing their presentation, however, is that if they get elected, they should focus on getting the football aspects right from the first year before looking at the business model.”

    Zamri Abdullah, chairman of Women’s National League side Girls Dream Team Circuit FC, added: “A sustainable business model is a necessity for NFL and the Women’s League teams in the long run and it’s good to hear these ideas.”

    The football grapevine was abuzz with talk that some members of Ng’s Game Changers were poised to drop out of the election, but team spokesman Steven Tan rubbished the talk.

    “The full slate for the elections for Team Game Changers has been confirmed for April 29, and the team is looking forward to it,” said Tan.

     

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    Source: http://www.tnp.sg

  • England FA Chief: Blatter’s Resignation ‘Great For Football’

    England FA Chief: Blatter’s Resignation ‘Great For Football’

    LONDON: Sepp Blatter’s shock resignation as FIFA president on Tuesday (Jun 2) was hailed as “great for football” by one of his chief critics, English FA chief Greg Dyke, who said he suspected a “smoking gun”.

    Dyke, who told BBC World he lost faith in Blatter last year, said he thought the 79-year-old Swiss realised the mounting corruption scandal that has engulfed world football’s governing body ‘was getting close to him’.

    “It is a good afternoon! I think it’s brilliant for world football. This is the start of something new,” said Dyke.  “When I left on Friday (when he was re-elected for a fifth term) I said ‘this is not over’ – but even I couldn’t have thought it’d be over so soon.

    “Why didn’t he step down last week? Clearly there’s a smoking gun of some sort. He’s not been honourable in years. Now he’s gone – let’s celebrate. The whole organisation of FIFA needs re-structuring. The whole organisation needs looking at financially.”

    Dyke added that FIFA under Blatter has done some good, including taking the World Cup to Africa for the first time in 2010, but added: “It’s all been done under a cloud of corruption and today it ends.”

    However, Dyke said that with Blatter due to go, the hosts of the 2022 World Cup Qatar should be very nervous. One of the two investigations involving FIFA is a Swiss one regarding the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar respectively. “If I was in Qatar I wouldn’t be very confident,” said Dyke, who was involved with the bid for the 2018 edition.

    Indeed Dyke said the reason he began to turn against Blatter was down to the latter’s dismissive attitude to an article in The Sunday Times – often a purveyor of stories on FIFA – last year. “I got very upset with Blatter a year ago after an excellent article in the Sunday Times regarding the awarding of the World Cup to Qatar,” said Dyke.

    “He dismissed it as just being racist. I found that offensive and it was then with (Dutch FA president and who withdrew from the presidential race the week before the election) Michael van Praag that we formed a platform against him.”

    However, Dyke, a former leading television executive with roles including Director-General of the BBC, ruled himself out of being a candidate to replace Blatter. “My wife might kill me if I did,” he said.

    He said, though, that the next president would have to be pure as driven snow. “They must have an impeccable character and be able to run an organisation where corruption has been rife for years … a lot of people could do the job.”

    Football Association vice-chairman David Gill, who had said last week he intended to resign from the FIFA executive committee if Blatter remained, has indicated he will now reconsider his decision.

    “As I announced following the election at FIFA congress, I simply could not countenance serving on the FIFA executive committee alongside Mr Blatter,” Gill said in a statement released by the Football Association.

    “I respect his decision but am pleased he is standing aside and by the clear determination for real change within FIFA. This in turn allows me to reconsider my position.

    “Having yet to confirm formally my resignation, I am more than willing to play my part in helping to bring about a positive future for FIFA and to work with the many people within the organisation who are only committed to developing and promoting the game around the world.”

    British Secretary of state for Culture, Media and Sport John Whittingdale told BBC Radio 5 live: “I hope football can now come together. The chasm was created by Blatter wanting to hang on. Europe was supporting an alternative candidate and as long as he was there it was going to be difficult to move forward. I now hope everyone can come together to make the changes required.”

    In Zurich, UEFA president Michel Platini hailed Blatter’s resignation as a brave and difficult decision. “It was a difficult decision, a brave decision, and the right decision,” Platini said in a statement.

    Asked whether the Frenchman would be a candidate to succeed Blatter, the UEFA press service said there would “no more statements today.”

    Platini had called several times for Blatter to resign. But he announced last year that he would not be a challenger to Blatter who was re-elected to his post only last Friday. Platini, who turns 60 later this month, has not ruled out standing in the future.

     

    Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

  • Sepp Blatter Resigns As FIFA President

    Sepp Blatter Resigns As FIFA President

    ZURICH: Sepp Blatter on Tuesday (Jun 2) resigned as president of FIFA in a stunning capitulation to critics as a mounting corruption scandal engulfed world football’s governing body.

    The 79-year-old Swiss official, FIFA president for 17 years and only re-elected on Friday, calmly told a hastily arranged press conference that a special congress would be called as soon as possible to choose a successor.

    “I felt compelled to stand for re-election, as I believed that this was the best thing for the organisation,” he told a hastily arranged press conference at the organisation’s Zurich headquarters. “That election is over but FIFA’s challenges are not. FIFA needs a profound overhaul,” Blatter added.

    Blatter did not mention the corruption storm that erupted less than a week ago, but went on: “While I have a mandate from the membership of FIFA, I do not feel that I have a mandate from the entire world of football – the fans, the players, the clubs, the people who live, breathe and love football as much as we all do at FIFA.

    “Therefore, I have decided to lay down my mandate at an extraordinary elective Congress. I will continue to exercise my functions as FIFA President until that election.”

    Blatter has defiantly held off resignation calls for many months amid controversies over the award of the 2018 and 2022 World Cup to Russia and Qatar and more recently over bribes allegedly taken by top soccer officials.

    Swiss police arrested seven FIFA officials, including two vice presidents, at a Zurich hotel last Wednesday setting off the latest storm for Blatter. The arrests were carried out on behalf of US prosecutors who accuse the seven, and eight other suspects, of involvement in US$150 million of bribes.

    Blatter had repeatedly pleaded his innocence and that of FIFA over the corruption. “The executive committee includes representatives of confederations over whom we have no control, but for whose actions FIFA is held responsible. We need deep-rooted structural change,” he reaffirmed in his statement.

    Blatter said he would remain in office as an interim leader until the election. The special congress cannot be held until between December 2015 and March 2016, according to Domenico Scala, chairman of FIFA’s independent audit and compliance committee.

    Critics were quick to welcome Blatter’s shock announcement, though some praised him. “It was a difficult decision, a brave decision, and the right decision,” said UEFA president Michel Platini, a former ally who last week told the FIFA president to his face that he should leave. English Football Association chief Greg Dyke, one of the fiercest criticis of the FIFA leader, said the resignation was “great for football.”

    Prince Ali bin al Hussein, who challenged Blatter in last Friday’s vote, immediately announced that he will be a candidate to take over. The Jordanian prince withdrew from the race after the first round of voting at the Zurich congress.

    Blatter beat him by 133 votes to 73 in the first round, with rock solid support from Asia and Africa seeing him through.

    Blatter has been with FIFA for 40 years, starting as a marketing official, becoming secretary general in 1978 and becoming president in 1998, taking over from Joao Havelange, whose long reign was also overshadowed by scandal.

    The Swiss official took over an international federation facing financial difficulties and turned it into a multi-billion dollar operation. In the four years between the 2010 and 2014 World Cups, FIFA made US$5.7 billion. The organisation has a cash mountain of US$1.5 billion.

    But since the first day, scandal has never been far from his office. There were allegations over the vote that elected him in 1998 and the collapse of the ISL sports marketing giant also triggered a crisis at FIFA.

    The past four years have been his toughest however. The day after the December 2010 vote that awarded the 2018 and 2022 World Cups triggered widespread accusations of bribery.

    Qatar has strongly denied any wrongdoing but one senior Qatari official, a FIFA vice president, was banned for life amid accusations that he gave bribes.

    Swiss police investigating the award of the 2018 and 2022 tournaments and raided the FIFA headquarters last Wednesday when the arrests were being carried out at a luxury city hotel.

    “It is my deep care for FIFA and its interests, which I hold very dear, that has led me to take this decision. I would like to thank those who have always supported me in a constructive and loyal manner as president of FIFA and who have done so much for the game that we all love,” he told the press conference.

    “What matters to me more than anything is that when all of this is over, football is the winner.” Blatter, stolid throughout the 10 minute appearance, then shook the hand of a member of his staff and calmly walked back to his office.

     

    Source: www.channelnewsasia.com