Has football forgotten the meaning of the words democracy, debate and competition? This Thursday, February 7, only one candidate will appear before the voters, in Rome, during the UEFA congress. The Slovenian Aleksander Ceferin will take over for 4 years at the head of the European football organization. The only question is whether his election to the presidency will resemble a plebiscite or a consensus without much favor.
Same trend on a global scale. FIFA soberly announced via a short press release on Wednesday February 6 that it had received a single candidacy for the next presidential election. Gianni Infantino, the holder of the post, will have no opposition on June 5 in Paris, during the 69th congress of the international institution. Barely a candidate, he is already announced as the winner.
At 48 years old, the Italian-Swiss arrived without really being announced, in February 2016, to settle down with guest manners in the chair left vacant by Sepp Blatter. The suspension of Michel Platini had opened up a huge avenue for him. A godsend for this former lawyer, born in Valais, son of Italian immigrants, known for mastering five languages, including Arabic.
But at the extraordinary congress in Zurich in February 2016, he had to fight hard to keep out the competition. The ballot pitted four candidates against each other. In the first round, Gianni Infantino was ahead of Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim al Khalifa by only three votes (1 against 88), the powerful leader of Bahrain, president of the Asian Confederation (AFC), member of the royal family.
This time, the ground is clear. Only one name had been mentioned in recent weeks as a possible competitor. A Swiss, once again. Ramon Vega, a former international player, notably with Tottenham in the Premier League, now converted to finance, tried his luck. In vain. He was not able to collect the five sponsorships from national federations necessary to run for the presidency. However, FIFA lists 211 member countries. Proof that the world of football prefers when trains arrive on time, even if it sometimes means sinking into boredom and monotony.
In just three years, Gianni Infantino has cleared the ground. Even before knowing he was alone on the trail, he had become certain that the vote would be favorable to him. Its decision to increase the number of teams qualified for the final phase of the 32 World Cup from 48 to 2026 has done a lot for its popularity. The plan to apply this change from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, still under discussion between Zurich and Doha, has further extended the range of its support. His political sense did the rest.
At least three continental associations, CAF in Africa, CONCACAF in North America, and CONMEBOL in South America, have already given it their support. At UEFA, Aleksander Ceferin poses as an opponent. By conviction, obviously. Unless the Slovenian is already preparing a future campaign to eventually settle in Gianni Infantino's chair.
Present in Rome this week for the UEFA Congress, the FIFA president welcomed the announcement of his expected coronation with his eternal half-smile. “ It's good news ", he suggested to journalists, without really trying to feign surprise. Then he insisted: “ This is good news for football.”
The same day, Gianni Infantino learned that he had been chosen by Vladimir Putin himself to be decorated with the Order of Friendship. The news appears in a decree, published Wednesday February 6. The medal rewards “ his great contribution to the preparation and organization of the 2018 FIFA World Cup” in Russia. It is reserved for cultural personalities or foreign dignitaries.
It now remains for Gianni Infantino to fill a void, obviously very noticed in the international sports movement. Although he is president of the most powerful federation in the world, he still waits at the door of the IOC. For how long ?
