Will $100M End the Protests?

Brazil to get $100M from FIFA

FIFA president Sepp Blatter responded Friday to criticism of the cost of staging the World Cup in Brazil by pledging to give at least $100 million from profits back to the country.

Soccer’s governing body gave South Africa $100 million to invest in development projects after the 2010 World Cup, but it had not previously said it would establish a similar “social fund” after the 2014 tournament for Brazil. ...

See the whole story here, from The News Tribune.

Kicking Back Comments: Ignoring the obvious bribe FIFA is trying to pay the Brazilian people ... my question is ... will it work?

I am not at all convinced an afterthought of FIFA paying for some of the money they are going to earn is going to do it frankly.

Time will tell, but if I had to guess, I would say FIFA is in for a bit more.

BRILLIANT Rip on FIFA!

How delicious: Sepp Blatter has kicked off Fifa's Arab Spring in Brazil

The Fifa president's masterplan to return the World Cup tournament to the continent of its inauguration is backfiring

It may be a little early to call this, what with several days of theConfederations Cup and an entire World Cup to run, but there's a nagging sense that Sepp Blatter is somewhat miscast as a Brazilian counter-revolutionary.

At time of writing, Fifa had yet to request covert support from the CIA in the form of arms shipments and financial backing. But with protests in Brazil continuing to make the most explicit of links between the money the country's government has spent on Fifa tournaments, and the money it hasn't spent on less uplifting things such as healthcare and education, Herr Blatter finds his usual arsenal increasingly wanting.

What is he to do, for instance, about the most prevalent slogan of the ongoing protests: "Fifa-standard", which deliberately applies the language of the World Cup bid to the comparatively unfavourable quality of Brazilian public services? In any normal circs, of course, Blatter would simply sue the placard-waver for unauthorised use of the Fifa imprimatur, but even his army of Zurich lawyers might struggle to persuade a court that demands for a functional transport system count as "ambush marketing". ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of The Guardian.

Kicking Back Comments: Absolutely brilliant article, worth reading every single word ... twice.

I Think Thou Doth Protest Too Much

Fifa must silence strip-poker 'liar' - Ramos

Spain defender Sergio Ramos on Tuesday urged Fifa to denounce the Brazilian journalist who claimed that the world champions had played strip-poker during an alcohol-fuelled party at the Confederations Cup.

The report, which appeared on website Globo Esporte, said members of the Spain squad had invited women back to their rooms following the opening 2-1 win over Uruguay in Recife on June 16. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of SuperSport.

Kicking Back Comments: FIFA the great protector of rights. Ha.

I think this is a great ploy by Brazil to rattle a few cages before the final. Based on the reaction of Ramos, I think it's working.

Where are all the fans?

FIFA Disappointed with Under-20 WCup Attendance

ISTANBUL (AP) -The empty seats that have greeted teams at the Under-20 World Cup in Turkey are a disappointment to FIFA.

Jim Boyce, the chairman of the FIFA Organizing Committee for the tournament, said Monday that he was unhappy with the turnout that has averaged only 4,828 spectators for the first 12 matches at the six sites.

If the trend continues, it would be the lowest attendance ever for an Under-20 World Cup dating back to 1977 - the next lowest being an average of 9,667 in the Netherlands in 2005. Several sites, including Istanbul, were far below the average with the opening France-Ghana match only attracting 2,800 fans in a 50,000-seat stadium. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of NBC Sports.

Kicking Back Comments: To heck with FIFA's expectations, I do wonder what is driving this behavior. Only about 5000 spectators have turned up for the forst 12 match on average, and the opening match in a 50000 seat stadium did not even have 3000 spectators!

What's going on?

It's too bad too as the U-20 is a great place for players and referees to really sharpen up in preparation for tournaments like the Olympics and World Cup. It often provides glimpses of the future of many stars.

Confederations Cup Canceled ...

... May indeed be the headlines shortly if FIFA and Brasil does not get their act together.

Confederations Cup: No plans to abandon event despite protests – Fifa

Fifa insisted on Friday that there were no plans to abandon the Confederations Cup in Brazil despite the protests that have affected the tournament.

Local media claimed the eight-team competition, which includes Spain and Italy as well as the hosts, could be stopped after an estimated one million people protested in cities across Brazil on Thursday. ...

See the whole article here, courtesy of The Guardian.

Kicking Back Comments: The fact that this has never been considered by FIFA, and I believe them when they say that, shows just how arrogant and misplaced they are.

I think these protests are small compared to what they are going to be for the World Cup when the Brazilian people get a real taste of the monies FIFA is extracting from their hides.

Once in a while, the NYT and I agree

A Lecture FIFA Didn't Need to Make

The action in the stadiums of Brazil became compelling by midweek, but the protests in the streets kept on swelling.

Neymar, the home nation’s hero, turned in another of his quixotic performances Wednesday in a 2-0 victory over Mexico in the steamy heat of Fortaleza in the Confederations Cup. He scored with a masterful volley but he disappeared for long spells. Toward the end, he dashed between two Mexican defenders, fooled them with his footwork and laid down the second goal to be scored by Jo. ...

See the whole article here, courtesy of the NYT.

Kicking Back Comments: An excellent article worth reading.

I suspect the Boo's will grow even louder before the Confederations Cup completeness.

I would say that FIFA has a real security problem on its hands ... but as we know, FIFA washes its hands of all issues of the type and relies on the host country for matters such as this.

Another great one liner from Sepp

Sepp Blatter blasts Brazil protesters

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP)

FIFA President Sepp Blatter has urged protesters flooding the streets of Brazil to stop exploiting football to express their anger against the government, maintaining that the country is benefiting from investment ahead of the 2014 World Cup.

Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets of several cities in the last week just as the world is focused on Brazil for the Confederations Cup, which serves as a test event for the World Cup. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of Fox Sports.

Kicking Back Comments: Best Line of the article:

"I can understand that people are not happy, but they should not use football to make their demands heard.'' Said Sepp Blatter to Brazil's Globo Network.

What a dastardly idea Sepp! Using football for your own gain or to promote an agenda! How outrageous!

I really wonder some days if he can go home, and look himself in the mirror.

50K is not enough ...

Tens of thousands protest FIFA Confederations Cup costs in Brazil

Youths clashed with police in central Rio Monday as more than 200,000 people marched in major Brazilian cities to protest the billions of dollars spent on the Confederations Cup and higher public transport costs.

Rio de Janeiro: Youths clashed with police in central Rio Monday as more than 200,000 people marched in major Brazilian cities to protest the billions of dollars spent on the Confederations Cup and higher public transport costs.

The nationwide demonstrations, the most extensive since the unrest began 10 days ago, were relatively peaceful.

However acts of vandalism were reported in Rio and Porto Alegre. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of NDTV.

Kicking Back Comments: Okay FIFA ... it's your move. You can clearly see how local folks are going to react to you robbing them blind.

Are you ready for some unrest during the World Cup?

Say what you will ...

For those who are regular readers here, you know I am outspoken about some of the shenanigans at FIFA and specifically how some at the top seem to have far more regard for their pockets, that The Game itself.

Well ... like everything ... there is another side as FIFA does some really charitable work as well.

One area that FIFA excels in is keeping track of the history of The Game. This can be evidenced by articles in the FIFA history section like "From 1863 to the Present Day," regarding the history of the LOTG.

Madame X, a former history teacher remind me often of how important staying connected to history is, and I agree with her in this case that such learning is a good example.

FIFA has a bone fide degree tract as well. Take a look here if you are interested in becoming a FIFA Master. It is described as:

The FIFA Master - International Master in Management, Law and Humanities of Sport.

Organised by the International Centre for Sport Studies (CIES) in partnership with three universities, De Montfort University in Leicester (England), SDA Bocconi School of Management in Milan (Italy) and the University of Neuchâtel (Switzerland), and endorsed by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the FIFA Master in Management, Law and Humanities of Sport was created to promote management education within the sports world. It has developed to become a top graduate programme developing all-round managers who can cope with the increasingly complex world of sport.

and apparently hold some clout as the best sports management program in Eurpoe, that is if you belive FIFA talking about themselves.

Either way, kudos to FIFA for keeping the flame lit on The Game, and not forgetting its roots.

Beating up on the little guy in Brazil

SAP, Pfizer-Teva, FIFA, Agilent: Intellectual Property

Trademark
FIFA Says Brazil World Cup Soccer Trademark Abuse More Than 2010

Soccer’s governing body FIFA said it found more cases of intellectual property infringement related to next year’s World Cup in Brazil than it did a year before South Africa hosted sports’ most-watched event in 2010.

Auke-Jan Bossenbroek, FIFA’s legal counsel responsible for protecting the Zurich-based organization’s trademarks, said action has been taken in the past six months against about 100 companies that don’t have permission to use protected words or logos related to the World Cup, which kicks off in Rio de Janeiro June 12, 2014. ...

See the whole article here, courtesy of Bloomberg.

Kicking Back Comments: I don't begrudge FIFA from enforcing their registered trademarks. They are property of FIFA and have every right to do so, and should for the future ability to do so.

Where I got a bit chapped was in the closing comment of the article, which states:

"Many of the cases in Brazil have been the result of local businesses not understanding the rules related to using World Cup logos, Bossenbroek said."

Now, not knowing the law is not an excuse, and I have to believe that most folks (everywhere), don't know the implications of trademark law. It does however smell a little heavy handed with a FIFA lawyer coming down on small shop owners in Brazil.

There are already wide reports of most locals not being bale to afford tickets, and FIFA has responded by providing 50K "free" tickets for use by the local folks (what actually happens, we'll see). 

I can see a similar argument here for "picking on" local shop owners for trademark violations. I'm not arguing that these are not violations, but there has to be a point of diminishing returns for FIFA. Not only is there a cost associated with finding these folks, but I also believe it to be bad form to make the guy wheeling around a trash barrel full of beer for $1 each take the photo of the FIFA World Cup(r) Trophy off his trash barrel.

It is all a bit too sterile for me. The locals are getting robbed blind ... again. Just let it go guys.

Sex was the price to fix a match ... and lose a FIFA badge

Match fixing: ref Ali Sabbagh and assisstants get jailed

Lebanese football referee referee Ali Sabbagh was sentenced with a six months’ improsonment today for match fixing. His assistant referees were sentenced with three months jail time, says Channel News Asia.

The referees all pled guilty on the first day of trial for accepting free sex from a gambling-linked global syndicate. In return they were supposed to rig a match between Asian Football Confederation Cup match (second international level for club teams, like Europa League; JtH) on April 3 between Singapore-based club Tampines Rovers and India’s East Bengal. Right before the match the match officials were pulled out and a new refereeing trio was appointed. ...

See the whole story here, from Dutch Referee.

Kicking Back Comments: How pathetic is this? A good "blow by blow" account is here and details just how awful this was.

Honestly I can't get me head around this. A referee works a lifetime for a FIFA badge to get the opportunity to referee at the highest levels, and yet is willing to breach everything that badge stands for, for a one night stand with a prostitute.

Incredible.

But also an affirmation, referees are only too human.

 

Sepp playing the joker again

FIFA’s Blatter to Visit Palestine in July

RAMALLAH, June 11, 2013 (WAFA) – Sepp Blatter, president of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), is expected to visit Palestine in July to help alleviate the problems facing Palestinian athletes from the Israeli occupation, Jibril Rjoub, head of the Palestinian Football Association, said Tuesday. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of wafa.ps.

Kicking Back Comments: FIFA is an incredible powerful organization that can do much to unite folks. If accurately reported however, (understanding this is a Palestine news outlet) Sepp's warnings of "Israel's membership to FIFA may be suspended", rings somewhat hollow based on what is going on in the region.

I am all for unification missions under the name of FIFA. There have been a few in the past and they serve as a great example of how people can have different goal, and exist together.

This is a bridge way too far however. FIFA should let the folks of the region determine their own future. Somehow, even a well intentioned trip by FIFA to one and not the other, seems inappropriate given the state of affairs.

Then again, I have sadly come to expect nothing less from our current leader of FIFA.

Kudos to FIFA ... on some good words

Fifa racism measures could see teams expelled or relegated

Teams could be relegated or expelled from competitions for serious incidents of racism after tough new powers were voted in by Fifa.

First or minor offences will result in either a warning, fine or order for a match to be played behind closed doors.

Serious or repeat offences can now be punished by a points deduction, expulsion or relegation.

Jeffrey Webb, head of Fifa's anti-racism task force, said the decision was "a defining moment". ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of BBC Sport.

Kicking Back Comments: This of course is a good first step by FIFA. There are (2) concerns I have right out of the gate. One immediate, one short term.

My immediate concern is not everyone voted for these measures. I would be interested to know why not. While I am interested in whom, I recognize that secret ballots are needed to quell the chilling effect voting publicly on such topics would have.

My short term concern is when this all starts. As I wrote yesterday, there was an incident involving the WNT in Canada ... and documented evidence via Twitter, and likely the referee of racism.

Why not start right now.

I will see when FIFA decides to jump in, as in my head they are already critically late to doing anything except complaining about something they should be working to stop.

Sepp's Sexism On Full Display

Sepp Blatter calls female Fifa candidate 'good and good-looking'

In the week Fifa said it was to expand the number of women-only positions on the world body's executive committee from one to three,Sepp Blatter, its gaffe-prone president, has described one of the candidates for the elected role, Australia's Moya Dodd, as "good, and good-looking".

Blatter made the comment in an address to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) delegates at Fifa's conference in Mauritiuson Wednesday. Dodd, vice-president of the AFC, diplomatically side-stepped the issue, saying she was, "mainly focused on hearing [Blatter's] comments about me being a good candidate … If he said anything more, then thanks for that, too". ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of The Guardian.

Kicking Back Comments: Oh Sepp. You just won't change will you?

Boy in looking back, it has been a banner week for FIFA. Gotta love when the FIFA Congress gets together.

FIFA Ethics ... Still A Joke

Blatter Says FIFA Congress Must Enact Changes to Prevent Crimes

FIFA President Sepp Blatter said soccer’s governing body must enact changes to allow the sport to continue the fight against corruption even as some former advisers question the group’s reform plans.

The ruling body’s 209 members will vote on proposed changes this week at FIFA’s annual meeting on the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius this week. Blatter said the process follows an “extensive consultation process” that started in 2011, the year when the Zurich-based body was forced by stakeholders including sponsors of its $5 billion World Cup to reform following graft allegations.

“We have a democratic process in place, we follow it,” Blatter said in an interview with FIFA.com. “Between 2011 and 2013, I made a lot of effort to take this reform process as far as I could, but it is now up to the FIFA Congress to decide on these measures.”

Former advisers have criticized FIFA, which Blatter has headed since 1998, for not doing enough to crack down on corruption. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of Bloomberg.

Kicking Back Comments: It is well summarized in this quote:

"Alexandra Wrage, president of Trace International, a non-profit organization in Canada that provides anti-bribery compliance advice to multinational companies, left the advisory group created by Blatter to suggest reforms. She claimed the work was the “least productive project” of her career."

Sounds about right.

FIFA Finally Does Something on Racism

Fifa ready to introduce five-game bans for players guilty of racism

Fifa is set to follow England's lead and bring in a mandatory five-match ban for players found guilty of racism, while also introducing points deductions for clubs where fans are serial offenders.

The five-match ban is being proposed by Fifa's new task force on racism and, if agreed by the governing body of world football's congress next week, all 209 member countries will have to adopt the rule. ...

See the whole story here, from the Guardian.

Kicking Back Comments: (5) Matches is not enough ... but it is a start, and better than nothing.

It does pale in comparison to what UEFA has already done in this regard, with a minimum (10) match ban.

Best and worst comments on the topic:

First from Jeffery Webb who chairs this committee for FIFA: 
"Finally, we're having some action on this. This is something that's long overdue."

Uh Jeff ... you chair the committee ... and have the ability to make things happen, right? Any delay, would seem to be of your own, and your boss' (FIFA) making. No whining about delays please.

Next from Michel Platini, president of UEFA:

"This is a great moment in our struggle against racism."

It most certainly is not Michel. It is a pathetic testament to the fact we have the problem in the first place. We should not be celebrating that we are dealing with such a social issue. We should just deal with it. To give it any due serves to celebrate our own barbarism. I for one am willing to acknowledge the fact, work for change, and solve the issue, not pat ourselves on the back for thinking a (5) match ban for racial epitaphs is "doing the right thing" and is a giant step forward.

It is not.

A Bit More Color

Bundesliga CEO rips FIFA over Qatar's World Cup

LONDON (AP) — The head of the Bundesliga criticized FIFA on Wednesday for awarding the 2022 World Cup to Qatar, saying the decision "is not for the good of the game." ...

See the whole story here, from USA Today.

Kicking Back Comments: I shared this story just yesterday on the topic but found the USA Today story that much better. It does bring up the spectre of a revote of the timing of the tournament changes.

I wonder in such a case if we would "cross swords" with the UK to host?

Bundesliga CEO slam FIFA

Bundesliga CEO slam FIFA

The head of the German Bundesliga has slammed FIFA's decision to award the 2022 World Cup to Qatar, saying the decision "is not for the good of the game."

Christian Seifert, speaking in London ahead of the all-German Champions League final between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, said staging the tournament in the tiny desert nation's summer heat could endanger the health of players and fans.

"The priority is always first the health of the players and this is what makes me most upset that the decision was done that ignores probably the health of the players and that ignores what is real in the game," Seifert said. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of ninemsn.com.au

Kicking Back Comments: Best line in the article was:

""We are really happy that FIFA recognises it's warm in the summer in Qatar. This is a great, great finding," said Seifert, who is also vice president of the German Football Association."

I laughed out loud at the audible of the head of the Bundesliga saying this with as much sarcasm as possible. Just beautiful.

There is mounting pressure to revisit this .... with even Sepp saying last week it seems hard to imagine the tournament being played in the dead of summer ... in a desert.

Clearly they thought the details all the way through ....

We Promise!

FIFA guarantees that Sao Paulo World Cup stadium will be ready on time

FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke has guaranteed Sao Paulo's World Cup football stadium will be ready on time, one day after claiming the venue could be taken off the tournament schedule due to construction delay

Valcke met with Itaquerao stadium officials on Wednesday and said he was confident the December 2013 deadline would be met, according to the Brazilian media. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of MercoPress.

Kicking Back Comments: Bets, anyone? Anyone? FIFA Guarantees .... funny.

"That is not acceptable ..." - Sepp Blatter

Italian Federation incurs Blatter wrath over Roma racism sanction

(CNN) -- The head of world football's global governing body has criticized Italian soccer for not cracking down hard enough on a team whose fans racially abused an opposition player.

Sunday's goalless draw between AC Milan and Roma at the San Siro stadium was brought to a halt for several minutes after visiting fans directed abuse at home striker Mario Balotelli.

The Italian Federation fined Roma $65,000, which prompted a forthright response from Blatter.

"What is surprising and is not understandable for me, is that the disciplinary committee of the Italian Football Federation has taken a decision, not even 24 hours after the event, by just imposing a fine," Blatter told FIFA's official website.

"They have not made any investigation of what happened. And just to give a pecuniary sanction is not valid, that is not acceptable. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of CNN.

Kicking Back Comments: The more I read Sepp's reactions, the more I equate him to a male version of Dolores Umbridge. Here is a brief clip from YouTube to illustrate:

I think it's his feigned outrage about the Italian Federation taking swift (>24h) action that gets me. I do agree with him that a mere $65K is nothing even close to a necessary penalty, but kudos for the FIGC for taking such quick action at all.

As we have learned from FIFA, there is a committee, but no action from it at all, and something is still better than nothing, even if that something is woefully inadequate.

Where FIFA is going to get into trouble is that each federation is coming up with its own set of rules on how to deal with such situations. (Where is the US on this one?) It looks also like no one federation is like another, no one is talking, and FIFA has no control ... 

All that aside, guess who had to make the decision to stop the match in this case?

You guessed it ... the referee.

No blue ribbon pannel, no FIFA representative at the stadium, no team official ... the referee.

Yes folks, we are going to be right on the front like of having to deal with this nonsense because no one else seems to have the courage to stop this vile behavior.