The man who would be president

With incumbent FIFA President, Sepp Blatter, as good as confirmed that he is standing for re-election again in 2015, many in the football world are looking for an alternative candidate.

If Blatter wins, it would be the 78-year-old’s fifth term, having first assumed the role in 1998 under what many describe as ‘controversial circumstances’ against Swede Lennart Johansson, the former President of UEFA. Blatter’s campaign manager at the time was Mohamed Bin Hammam who was Blatter’s opponent in 2011 but who has since been banned from all football activity.

Only one person has so far said they will stand – former French diplomat and former FIFA senior executive, Jérôme Champagne. His candidacy has been endorsed by no less than Pelé.

Many believe the multilingual and urbane Champagne has put his hat in the ring merely to be a spoiler for fellow French man and current UEFA President, Michel Platini; that his ‘real’ game plan is to take over the job as CEO of FIFA from Jérôme Valcke whom many believe is either out of favour or simply wanting a change.

Some say Champagne is the ultimate ‘FIFA insider’ who is not committed to the reform that FIFA so desperately needs. He spoke with Bonita Mersiades in a Zurich café.

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“I believe in total transparency,” Champagne says.

“We need a debate in football. We need to prepare for 15-20 years to come. It is the number one sport in the world, indisputably. Even in New Zealand, more kids play football than rugby. In this regard, globalisation has worked.

“But globalisation also brings problems,” he says. “It’s no different in football than the rest of the world. We are seeing huge increases in inequalities, privatisation of assets and a lack of regulation.”

He says he’d like to see FIFA be more democratic, more proactive and more respected.

But he doesn’t have a bad word to say against his former boss, Blatter.

He instead points out many of the positive things that have been achieved under Blatter’s reign as President and, before that, as General Secretary (CEO).

“I was tasked by Blatter to ensure that Africa benefited from the World Cup. We did this with ‘Win in Africa with Africa’.”

It’s a $54 million program that gave much-needed facilities to many African football associations and clubs.

“There was no corruption with this,” he says. “I have a record of managing projects and these were managed as they should be. So many football associations around the world don’t have fields to train or play, don’t have headquarters buildings.

“The inequalities in the football world are so big there simply isn’t enough money to correct them all.”

Champagne believes one of the ways FIFA could bring more equality to the game is through the regulation of TV rights. He points that that there is an Article in the FIFA Statutes that allows FIFA to have the ultimate say on regulation of rights around the world.

“The TV deals create many of these inequalities and it could be that the TV deals might also be used to solve them.”

But he agrees there are powerful forces that would be opposed to this.

“In Europe, the ‘Iron Curtain’ has been replaced by the ‘Money Curtain’. It not only divides the football world, but within a confederation and, sometimes, within a country.

“Take the example of Spain where traditionally the clubs have managed their own TV rights. This is why there are two super-rich clubs, a couple of medium-rich clubs and others that are struggling despite the overall standard of Spanish football.”

The richest Spanish clubs – Real Madrid and FC Barcelona – receive twelve times more in television rights than the poorest in the first division of La Liga.

But Champagne does not think that players should be penalised.

“I don’t like the idea of a salary cap,” he says. “It is unfair for players and, one way or the other, money gets paid under the table – whether it be by side-contracts for specific services, the provision of goods such as a house or car or even cash in brown paper bags.

“No-one ever questions what Bono or Nicole Kidman should be paid, so I don’t understand the focus on players’ salaries either.”

He says that FIFA should be looking at how to distribute the money differently.

“Thirty-two clubs in Europe collect 900 million Euros (A$1.3 billion), where others get hardly anything.”

He says that the idea floated earlier in the year for a new league involving the top European clubs will only further isolate Europe from the rest of the football world.

“The [big European] clubs are trying to formalise hegemony,” he says.

“The fact is four countries have 45% of the world’s population and that is where world football should be putting its focus.” He is referring to China, India, the United States and Indonesia.

Champagne says that while China has had to deal with significant corruption issues in its football administration, it is now on the right track and is improving the quality of its on-field performance with Guangzhou Evergrande having won the Asian Champions League and also qualifying for the 2015 Asian Cup.

“I think it’s important for China and the football world that they qualify for a World Cup soon, as they would be perfect hosts for a tournament.”

In 2026?

“Yes, in 2026. Eventually – perhaps not in our lifetime – they will also go on to win the World Cup.”

He points out that the number one sport in India at Independence in 1947 was football.

“Cricket has become more prominent and more successful but football is literally a ‘sleeping giant’ in India.”

In the United States, he says there are 20 million Americans who play and Major League Soccer is averaging 19,000 people to every game.

“With the United States’ cultural diversity as well as Americans’ love of sport and competition, both participation and active support are only going to get bigger.”

He believes the fourth country of focus, Indonesia, has been neglected by FIFA for too long.

“The football association was established in Indonesia in 1930 and it has been allowed to do its own thing with not much attention paid to it. But it is a country of 250 million people where football is the most popular sport.”

While Champagne advocates a focus on China, India, the US and Indonesia in terms of developing the game, he also believes the smaller organisational units of football – such as the Caribbean nations and Oceania – are essential and deserve support.

“They are real places. They need real confederations.”

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Champagne doesn’t blame Blatter for any of the mistakes related to the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

“Blatter’s only mistake was to hold the vote for two World Cups at one time.”

FIFA did this on the basis that it would maximise the commercial outcomes by offering two World Cups at once, but Champagne and many others said this wasn’t necessary. What it did do was open up the process to at best, vote-swapping and, at worst, collusion.

“It is common talk that many of the bidders were involved in arrangements like this. Not just Qatar, Spain and Portugal,” he says. “Australia also.”

Champagne believes that, if the investigations by FIFA Ethics Committee head, Michael Garcia, result in a ‘smoking gun’, that “all options are on the table” for 2022.

The interview took place before the MH17 disaster in eastern Ukraine in July, but Champagne believes the decision to award 2018 to Russia was more solid.

“They have a real tradition of football. And we’re talking about something [that is only] four years away.”

By contrast, he is quite clear that Qatar should not host the World Cup.

“My first diplomatic posting back in 1983 was to an Arab country,” Champagne says. “I like the Middle East, I understand it.”

He speaks some Arabic as well as German, Portuguese, English and his native French.

“You can’t hold a World Cup in 45 degree heat. To move it, will have an impact on three seasons – before and after – and will distort competitions around the world.”

Champagne is quick to acknowledge that Qatar is “innocent until proven guilty” but there is too much that is “unacceptable” about the tiny nation as host.

“The situation of workers there is not right. The heat is not right – for players or fans. You cannot say the World Cup is a ‘celebration of humanity’ and then give Qatar the World Cup.”

He says if Garcia’s investigations do result in a re-vote, there are a number of options.

“It could be that there is a re-vote involving all bidders; or the other four for 2022 [Australia, Japan, Korea, USA]; that it goes to the ‘Silver Medallist’ (USA); or that it is completely opened-up again.”

But he says it’s unlikely Australia would have a second chance.

“Australia’s first mistake was the dinner hosted by FFA in Sydney at the time of the FIFA Congress [in 2008 before bidding had formally commenced in 2008] with the luxury and the gifts on offer. From that point on, Australia was thought to be like any other bidding country to be abused because they would give all sorts of gifts,” he says.

“Australia’s second mistake was that it was naïve to believe that its trio of international consultants (Andreas Abold, Peter Hargitay and Fedor Radmann) would deliver them the World Cup.”

He suggests that Australia can help improve its image through the Asian Cup.

He believes the vulnerability for the tournament’s success is the perceived lack of interest by many Australians in the Asian region.

“I am not just talking football here. But there is a general perception that Australia is part of Asia when it suits them, but they’re not really part of Asia culturally.

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With an American wife whom he met while serving as a diplomat in Los Angeles in the 1990s and three teenage children, Champagne is also acutely aware of the influence of women and ‘moms’ on football.

“Women are 50% of the population. We can’t ignore them!” he exclaims.

He says he would like to see more women involved in senior levels of the game.

“It is not just because they play the game but because they’re fundamental to decisions made by families about what sport their children play, what they do for entertainment and also as volunteers.”

Yet he doesn’t support quotas or incentives to football associations to help make it happen, even though he is aware that football associations worldwide need ‘modernisation’.

“I really do not like quotas. I firmly believe that we need the best people for the job. Incentives are slightly better because they reward football associations for a specific behaviour or action.”

He says instead that leadership is evolving.

“It’s a normal process. In the Norwegian FA, for example, they have gender equality. There are four men and four women on the Board of the FA.”

He says the 21st Century is all about “horizontal interests”, not vertical ones.

Champagne says one of the first things he would do if elected President is to make his salary public. He says that FIFA is like a government.

“It is the government of football. If the President of the United States can make his or her salary public, then so can the President of FIFA.”

Champagne also believes the manner in which the rest of the Executive Committee is appointed should be restructured.

“My analogy with government is relevant in more ways than one,” he says.

“Governments are elected on a platform and so should the FIFA Executive. One of the problems has been that the President is elected by one process – the entire Congress – while the other members are elected by their individual confederations.

“That means, even if the President has a particular will to do something, it may not be possible unless the majority of the Executive Committee agree.”

He says this is not just an issue for FIFA but it starts with FIFA.

“It is an issue for football associations around the world.

“There needs to be greater transparency, inclusion, better management and modernisation of systems, policies and processes.”

“The football associations need more power and more authority but with that also comes obligations in terms of how their associations are managed, how their clubs are funded and run, the quality and sustainability of their leagues and the balance between owners of clubs and the players.

“I would like to see more competitiveness between the leagues rather than lop-sided competitions where the top countries cream off the very best and others are left with lesser quality competitions, reduced competitiveness and less money.”

* * *

There’s twelve months to the next FIFA Presidential election. Champagne has previously said that if Blatter stands again, Blatter will win.

Recent events suggest that Champagne will stay in the race regardless of Blatter’s decision.

In a statement issued after FIFA’s São Paulo Congress in June, Champagne said that the FIFA Presidency should be about “vision, programs and manifestos” and believes that it “honours” those working in football to put forward a vision.

“I am very much looking forward to the debate in front of us for the year to come, a debate even more necessary after the events having unfolded in the past weeks,” he added.

Champagne is much more forgiving of Blatter than the football world and says Blatter’s positive legacy far outweighs the negative.

“He has always had to deal with the Executive he has in front of him and they don’t think the same way.

“They all come to the role with different agendas, different objectives and different ideas on how to do things so it is very difficult for the President to achieve anything. No-one really knows what the rest of the Executive stand for. The Presidential candidates are the only ones who have to stand-up and say ‘this is what I believe’ but the way the Executive is structured, he has no mandate.”

He cites as examples of Blatter’s positive legacy the developments in Africa, Oceania, the Caribbean, Palestine and Kosovo – most of which Champagne prosecuted on FIFA’s behalf, either as an employee or consultant.

“The game has also grown enormously in the time he’s been there,” he adds.

Champagne shrugs his shoulders when it comes to the court of public opinion on Blatter and his legacy.

He says if he wins, he would continue with the positive aspects of Blatter’s almost 40 years at FIFA but change both the perception and the reality of the serial allegations of corruption, poor governance and mismanagement that have plagued FIFA in recent decades.

“I want to build on the good he has done,” he says.

“And I also want to be more transparent, be more accountable, bring equity into the game, make right the decisions that have been wrong and focus on the four areas of growth in world football.”

The interview was first published on the website sportsbusinessinsider.com.au