FIFA: Back the bid?

Panorama and Andrew Jennings added another act to the joke that is FIFA yesterday. It is not the first time it has been smeared for corruption allegations.

We are indeed amidst the closing stages to see who will host the FIFA World Cup in 2018 and 2022, and if votes go our way it could possibly be in England. Anyone who ever reads Jennings’s excellent website Transparency in Sport will be aware of the activities behind the scenes at FIFA. The real question should be, would we really want to host it and really, who gains most?

The world of politics and diplomacy is always a bit shady (as we know from wikileaks) but why does no one ask any questions of FIFA? Sepp Blatter must be the only President of an organisation who does not declare his wage, yet politicians invite him to the corridors of power in an attempt to persuade him to consider their bid. A man who started as a lawyer working for Adidas, now holds the highest seat in international football, but opposes transparency or reform. The ‘beautiful’ game has become ‘tarnished’.

Blatter’s legacy is supposedly to help the expansion of the game throughout the world and use football as a tool to unite people. The South African World Cup was the first occasion to bring the ‘beautiful game’ to the African continent. No one questions the merits of the event, but why aren’t people a bit more sceptical of all things ‘unifying’ and ‘legacy’. No one questioned whether Africa could host a competition (IPL, the Rugby World Cup, the African Cup of Nations) but in meeting FIFA’s strict criteria, was it necessary to build new stadia and the infrastructure? The answers suggest no; since the tournament, several of the stadiums lay empty and recent matches have only filled tiny proportions of the ground. The improved transport links will lay foundations for future economic benefits, but it doesn’t fill the hotels built to cater for prospective tourists.

Since the Athens Olympics in 2004, the Olympic stadium and other supporting arenas have become wastelands. Since Euro 2004 in Portugal one of the stadiums was knocked down because of high maintenance costs. Both Spain and Portugal are the favourites for the upcoming bid, yet Spain too has dozens of stadium that are half built or under-prepared. These will be sorted out if the bid is won, but why should stadiums of such magnitude be built, under executive orders and government submission, only to be left redundant a month later? It is all put in perspective if both Iberian countries are apparently on the verge of collapse, this isn’t FIFA’s problem.

I understand the power of sport and the impact it can have on society. I do not buy this idea that through spending billions will you achieve this acclaimed legacy. It certainly makes a country feel better but it is not the only solution. If England wins the bid then it will continue to be no questions asked and will purely highlight this country’s great sporting tradition and capacity to hosting global events. FIFA and its bandwagon will be a part of this and no further questions will be asked.

AK47 is the tool.

No doubt the instability in our world breeds an air of fear and combativeness. Africa’s stagnation can be put down to the continuous volatility of regimes and the uncertainty it brings to neighbouring countries. In the past few days there was another coup in Madagascar, electoral violence in Guinea and the release of a British couple from Somalia. Perhaps the most unfortunate aspect of Africa’s liberation legacy was the fact that many of these young emerging countries first gained independence during the Cold War. The ebullient and determined leaders that hoped to define a continent were mostly purged or assassinated and replaced with military ‘yes’ men. History depicts them as charismatic, yet on the verge of lunacy; destroying the economies and importing arms by the shipload. Africa is still left awash with guns; most notably the AK47: the Kalashnikov.

Invented just after the Second World War, it was a cheap, effective, standardised weapon. Its global ubiquity stems from the planned Soviet economy, not capital markets of supply and demand; it was manufactured and stockpiled into the tens of millions, perhaps more. Cold War politics saw it sent to the Eastern Bloc, China, Korea and Egypt.

Most importantly, it was effective. It did not require much maintenance; it was long lasting and could pretty much be put into the hands of anyone. There are stories of American soldiers during the Vietnam and Iraqi wars dumping their own weapons for the more effective weapon of choice.

The AK47 is now the standard issue for the world’s terrorists and its iconography places its legacy in the hands of freedom fighters and revolutionaries. The armed struggle of Mozambique from its colonial overlord, Portugal, saw the AK47 have pride of place on the nation’s flag. Haille Mengistu Mariam of Ethiopia’s Derg reportedly took one to a cabinet meeting before opening fire on some of his minister’s. These all seem quite anecdotal, but the price for Africa with its porous borders and terrible post-colonial record has blotted the world’s image of war. The Kalashnikov’s lightness and ease of use has driven it into the hands of children; a legacy that caused devastation in Sierra Leone, Liberia and DR Congo. The unfortunate thing is that as long as there are poorly-paid soldiers and instability across the continent, then the AK will pen another chapter in its worldwide autobiography.

Boxing: The Final Punch.

It was interesting to read and watch the hype surrounding the David Haye and Audley Harrison boxing fight, which ended in a third round victory for Haye. Boxing nowadays is a question of how it can adapt to a world that remembers its glorious and historical past. If we are being honest then the match last night was a contest between a second-rate champion and fourth-rate opponent. Long gone are the days of Ali vs. Liston or even of late, Tyson vs. Holyfield.

The attractions to the game are still part of modern-day boxing, the pugilism, the alpha male and survival instincts; this is why people still get excited over the big clashes and why people are willing to spend big money to watch. In terms of intensity, nothing can come close to the sheer athleticism and punishment the athletes go through to become fit. There are numerous examples of fighters who have suffered as a result of their fights; but this isn't why the sport has stagnated. There is an element of risk in all high-impact sports and the high-pressure of certain events can drive other competitors to the edge. Boxing has suffered because its original talent-pool now has different avenues to choose from. In America, there is basketball and for the rest of the world, football is king. Boxing matches used to define decades, yet we are now seeing fewer and fewer.

Boxing, most recently,has struggled to compete with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), but I would argue there is no comparison as a spectacle both technically and athletically. Boxing has fallen behind in the marketing stakes and heavily relies on the big bouts, which are becoming thin on the ground; hence Haye versus Harrison. Boxing produced show men like Ali, Tyson and Sugar Ray, who all caught the gaze of the public; but for their athleticism and grace, not the hyperbole of weigh-ins and media chat. Boxing is not a dying sport and certainly fighters have defined it before and can define it again. I don’t think any sport could compete with the prospect of Haye vs. The Klitschko or Mayweather vs. Pacquiao. I would certainly pay to see it.

Porridge

There was much focus on Government services over the past week and questions of how deep can budgets be cut before it affects the administering of a public service. Ideologically for Conservatives, locking up criminals is a staple of maintaining law and order on the streets and protecting ordinary citizens. Yet, The Times lead with the story that six prisons may need to be shut as the Department of Justice looks for budget reductions, something sure to unsettle most Tory voters. Also, an European ruling found that Britain was in breach of prisoners’ rights by not allowing them to vote in elections or referenda. The approach of how we deal with prisoners is bound to create discussion amongst politicians because it poses questions of finance, authority and the role of prison itself i.e. to punish or to rehabilitate. In America, there has been a growth recently in the use of ‘supermax’ prisons, intertwined with solitary confinement.

Both countries share the values of Common Law, yet our attitudes to law and order vary greatly; most notably through some States use of capital punishment. Yet, it is the use of measures like solitary confinement that show the gulfs in treatment. In practice it is remaining in one’s cell without interaction or stimulus, something outlawed in the American constitutuion. Studies show it can lead to mental illnesses and depression, yet the US State department deems this as a legitimate way of treating some felons; and many would agree. It appears hard to gauge how we could stand ‘shoulder-to-shoulder’ with America, when our attitudes to treating prisoners are entirely different. The British did not have the best record during ‘The Troubles’ in Northern Ireland, however it didn’t affect the civil liberties of ordinary citizens nor prisoners.

The recent Freedom of Information releases in Poland indeed indict American agents in torture and that members of the British Security Services were aware of these occurrences (this has been denied by the British Government, but many leading figures believe that agents were complicit.) You could argue that torture is effective if it leads to information and that moral legitimacy can be shifted in the interests of national security. It does however weaken the often ‘megaphone diplomacy’ of human rights and democracy to countries like China and Turkey, if we meddle in such acts ourselves. France and Britain both have colonial memories of how ‘justice’ can swathe opinion against the so called good: Algeria and Ireland.

Prison should be a tool to punish the criminals of society and deter others from entering the world of crime. Solitary confinement and torture should be left to the annals of Nazi Germany, Communist Russia, Mao’s China and Apartheid South Africa, ugly and shocking aspects of history. I am unsure of the importance of the European ruling and question whether it would really have an impact. It is a case of whether you believe prisoners should have a say on society or should be observers away from the polling booths. 85,000 and counting.

Sportsmen at war: The Killing Fields.

2010 will be the first time that all 20 Barclay’s Premiership clubs will bestow a place on their shirts for the British Legion’s poppy of remembrance. In the past few years, football crowds have become used to minutes of applause in respect to their fellow professionals and for other celebrated figures of the game that have died; though admittedly, applause appears to hide the otherwise boisterous minority observed during a minute’s silence. The Poppy Appeal has become more visible with Britain’s involvement in recent international conflicts and certainly sportsmen and women have contributed a great deal to help those affected by war injuries. Twickenham has held many events to raise money and create awareness for injured servicemen and women. Sport has a great history in war and in previous generations it was common to see sporting heroes of the day to enlist for frontline service, something unimaginable by today’s professionals.

World War One was the first time that British men enlisted en masse to fight for their country; something common on the continent but new to Britain, but this was a desperate occasion. One of the most popular ways of drumming up support was through the ‘pal’s battalion’. This simply was creating platoons of men from local industries or communities; it was literally fighting at the front with your next door neighbour and best school friend. As we know, the war wasn’t over before Christmas and many battalions were massacred. 584 out of the 720 men of the Accrington Pal’s were killed, missing or injured on the first day of the Battle of the Somme. Rows upon rows of houses, in the small Lancashire town, had their curtains drawn in their early days of July 1916. Communities were destroyed by the futile clamour over the top, over and over again.

Perhaps one of the most moving stories is that of the Hearts team. The squad of the 1914/15 side had won their first title since 1897 and had won eight games on the trot, including a game against the Danish national side. It was during this season that amateur sports like rugby, golf and hockey had stopped, as more men signed up to go to the front. In fact, the Glasgow Herald questioned after the November 1914 Old Firm clash how much the fates of Rangers and Celtic mattered when the ‘greatest of all internationals’ was being played in Europe. It was not until late November when the Royal Scots was formed and all of Hearts’ first XI and five reserves enlisted. Many of their fates were sealed along with many others on the first day of the Somme. Inside forward Henry Wattie and Duncan Currie both fell on the first day. Paddy Crossan was wounded by a shell and his lungs ruined by gas. He was so badly injured that his right leg was labelled for amputation, he begged the German surgeon not to amputate saying, ‘I need my legs, I’m a footballer.’ His leg was saved and he survived the war but died in 1933.

It wasn’t just football that suffered. World number one and New Zealand tennis player Tony Wilding was killed by shell fire. England’s rugby captain Ronnie Poulton-Palmer was killed at Ploegstreert Wood. Around 34 county cricketers were killed in combat, including the Warwickshire all-rounder Percy Jeeves. It is said that P.G. Wodehouse’s character Jeeves was named after him. Wodehouse had been a great fan.

The same thing happened during World War Two, though many sportsmen were not posted to frontline positions like their previous generation. High-profile footballers like Tom Finney served in Monty’s Eighth Army in North Africa and Stan Matthews served his time in the RAF. Not all were fortunate, Hedley Verity, the Yorkshire and English spin-bowler was killed in action at Monte Cassino and the Ajax footballer Eddy Hamel was murdered in Auschwitz in 1943.

War is no longer fought on such grand theatres and mass enlistment/national service no longer exists. It is no use to ask hypothetical questions of whether today’s professionals would do the same, it is best to reflect that these men represented their countries at the highest level in sport and delayed their careers for more purposeful causes, often with their lives’. Their stories paint ones of humility and heroism, Premiership footballers may play in hostile arenas in Europe; but ultimately it was nothing like Ypres, Passchendaele or the Somme.