FIFA presidential elections: A test for CAF leadership vision

Just before the kick-off of the highly anticipated Rwanda-DRC quarterfinal game at CHAN2016, Issa Hayatou, the acting President of FIFA and CAF boss, strolled in the VVIP section of Amahoro National Stadium like a kingmaker. He was followed by his entire Executive Committee and other football dignitaries in an almost rehearsed procession. As soon as the match started, beautifully designed brochures highlighting the achievements of the current CAF team were distributed, with CAF President on the cover page. Not a surprise for those who know that elections and appointments to CAF commissions are coming soon. But behind the scenes, hard lobbying is in progress as CAF Executive Committee is expected to decide today (February 5) who they will back for the FIFA presidency during the elections slated for February 26. With 54 votes, the African voting bloc will surely tip the electoral balance in the first round. The African vote therefore matters. So what line of thinking should guide CAF decision makers today? Are they going for individual federation choice or will they vote as a bloc? Are they going for true reform of the organisation or the status quo with just a little more transparency? In any case, to whom will CAF be fundamentally accountable? Deciding Africa’s future Recently, FIFA candidate Salman Sheikh proposed a structural reform to separate the technical matters from the marketing and commercial aspects. Supposedly to reduce risk of collusion among Executives as if the two can be completely isolated. Yet below the surface, there is no change on substantive matters about resources allocation from the huge revenues involved, -around $4 billion in 2014. The critical issue of disparity between rich and poor clubs, the disproportionate weight of some confederations (including UEFA) will not be addressed at all. In a bid for popularity, candidate Infatino has proposed to increase the number of African teams from 5 up to 8 in a configuration of 40 teams from the World Cup 2022. This flattering proposal doesn’t however solve the lack competitiveness; where African teams barely pass the group stage for years. Candidate Ali, on the other hand, proposes to quadruple the annual share allocated to African federations ($ 1M each) for training and technical assistance. A small positive step if it is intended to support football academies and youth leagues, usually underfunded and in sorry state. These good ideas do not address however the real challenges of the African football or meet the expectations around this sport that evokes so much passion in the young and old. Impacting reforms must be conceived within a more holistic view of economic and human progress. This brings me to CAF and gets me asking. What profile should the candidate CAF backs have? What kind of programmes should be proposed, negotiated or imposed onto the candidates? Shift in strategy needed In England, the sport’s sector alone contributes 15% of GDP, second only to financial services. We all know and live their soft power through the Premier League mania. But few people know that taxes collected reached £2.4 billion, only from football clubs’ operations and players’ salaries in 2015. This revenue is more than the annual budgets of about third of African countries and 12 time Google’s taxes in UK same year. Equally true, African governments have built stadiums and supported the national teams and local championships financially and for decades without any return on investment or sustainability in sight. FIFA and CAF incidentally should recognize this fact and consider governments as their partners that need to be consulted and brought on board through appropriate forums to advance an active Public FIFA (and CAF similarly) partnership. Strategically, FIFA should conceive some of its development programmes within the new SDG framework that captures the youth energy and with the view to creating more jobs and skills. There should be a reliable framework for smooth transition to professional football starting with the completion of the clubs licensing process toward their financial sustainability. If CAF can sign a contract for $1 billion with a marketing firm, this is an indication of what Africa potential already has and this could be easily surpassed if synergies are well coordinated. But who will bring those changes if most of the FIFA candidates got in the game by default? Infantino was said to be nominated as UEFA backup plan when Michel Platini’s file got complicated with the revelation of dubious relations with Sepp Blatter. Salman himself had supported the same Platini but put forward his name later on, only when that case against Platini heated up. South Africa’s Tokyo Sexwale, who did not get the full support at home, has no substantive proposal and is unable to articulate a programme that Africans would own. Jerome Champagne’s campaign is barely audible, leaving unclear from what standpoint he could be voted for. Prince Ali, who had the gut to face Blatter in 2015, is not sure anymore of his former supporters including those in UEFA, Asian confederation AFC and among African federations. With this context in mind, it is obvious the best candidate should advance the continental agenda as a whole along with its regional specificities. CAF shall continue to claim the organization/hosting of a World Cup (2030) in line with the narrative of an emerging continent hoping it will be awarded within Africa on competitive basis! It should be someone who will engage and plan to mobilize African public and private partners to expedite the football development. Far from the siege mentality of its federations under the disguise of statutory autonomy, usually misinterpreted and prone to conflicts with line ministries that fund them! In a nutshell, the future leader of the FIFA must commit to the create conditions for long term sustainability for Federations and Clubs in Africa. Our decision makers need to look farther and refrain from bookmakers, media and polls influence. CAF choice must cold, collected and strategic with 2030 targets in mind. African people are expecting zero mistakes and a winning strike from the Executive Committee meeting! The writer is a business strategist & managing consultant at TIDE Africa Email : tideafrica@gmail.com

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FIFA presidential elections: A test for CAF leadership vision