Nothing rotten in the state of Fifa
Out of the frying pan and into the fire – from the auditorium and the verdict, to the walk of shame. A parade of English loyalty and sporting aristocracy before the pitiless TV lenses.
Prince William gave a quick “the guys are pretty down”, then a statement to camera. And that was that.
Gary Lineker – dressed for a funeral in black tie, would you believe – looked genuinely tired and upset as he spoke to me. He said he was mystified, there was nothing he could point to. On allegations of corruption revealed by The Sunday Times and the BBC, he would not be drawn.
Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer, characteristically blunt, telling me he was bitter. His language and demeanour screaming “we was robbed by the Russians”, though of course bitter was the only word he used. It spoke volumes.
But the man to get to, his one-time Arsenal supremo David Dein, international exec for the bid. He’s the man we have seen late into the night, eyeball to eyeball, with the 22-delegate brotherhood of Fifa.
In a fascinating interview, he keeps on telling me it would always be uphill. Uphill, he uses the word again and again. But why uphill, when the England bid and presentation always made it at or near the front on paper?
“I’m not getting drawn into that,” he told me again and again. As I questioned him about the 50-foot pink elephant in this large auditorium: the Fifa corruption allegations.
Of course they are not going there – merely mouthing gentlemanly words of congratulations to the Russians.
It is clear here tonight that falling at the first hurdle – before all other bids – has devastated the team. But to what extent they blame in private the exemplary – yes, and damaging – reporting from the Sunday Times and Panorama, we just don’t know.
On one side of me now, the Qataris – embracing and crying with joy. On the other, the cameras gather for the victorious Russians amid rumours that Vladimir Putin is flying to Zurich tonight.
There is the other joke here in Zurich, that Mr Putin simply said to Fifa: “Give us the cup or we turn off the gas and oil.”
Of course, this is a joke. Nothing so corrupt could ever happen in the world politics of sport, could it?
There are 6 comments on this post
Actually, the feeling of rejection that I’m sure the team bidding for England now feel reminds me of the job appliction process.
So many times over the years, I’ve worked really hard and put in a good job application, only to be rejected for no good reason. Often I find that the successful applicant has a much larger chest, longer legs and can wear a short skirt…
So the application process is essentially pointless, as success usually boils down to factors that I can do nothing about…
I think the England bidding team has been a victim of the same problem, but I know they’ve all tried very hard and I am grateful for their efforts. England 2018 was a nice dream…
As for FIFA. I’ve no doubt the media will winkle out the truth behind the decision (whatever it is) in the fullness of time…
There’s no neeed to restrain yourselves now, as the decision has been taken and won’t be changed. Nevertheless, there are some really good questions that need to be asked about FIFA’s decision…!
It’s an interesting comparison Ray – particularly to those occasions when you turn up for an interview, and discover there is an internal candidate.
I’ve worked for 10 years as a Bid Manager managing global bids.
The fundamentals
- understand the process
- understand the requirements
- undertand the evalaution criteria
- qualify ‘bid’ ‘no-bid’ based on reqts and evaluation criteria…i.e. winnable?
- if bid then ‘walk through’ the proposal
- revised proposal
- win or lose
- if lose then get formal feedback
So what’s the problem?
Should we have no bid
Did the proposal meet the reqts
Its no good slagging off the other bidders, get formal feedback from FIFA
Its no good slagging off FIFA as being corrupt, if we had any question on the transparency/fairness then we shouldnt take part otherwise we are hypocrits.
Get real England.
Its very hard not to come to the conclusion that the England bid was doomed from the outset.
If, as has been suggested by the BBC’s Panorama and the Sunday Times, FIFA panel members sell their votes, then the only way to win was via corrupt payments.
Surely therefore, it would have been more embarassing to win? The ‘uphill struggle’ probably means that we knew from the outset that part of the panel was bent.
England should withdraw from FIFA until the panel is restructured and voting criteria is made plain. How many points for Stadia? How many points for transport infrastructure? How many points for policing capability? How many points for local engagement and support? How many deducted because you hosted last year? Without clear criteria, corruption is inevitable.
so we should have ‘no bid’
the bid manager needs to be questioned
Britain is a country that plays by the rules. It’s like the school child seated in the front that comes with perfect attire and always has his hand in the air. Sadly the world is not about playing by the rules. It’s about paying the right bribes and following the system how it really works. Something has to be done about this media. There is no point shouting democracy all the time and to everyone’s face. No one cares and it creates bad bad feeling.