England Facing World Cup Ban Due to Politics?

Posted by Rob Shepherd on Saturday, February 18, 2017

We Might Not Lose on Penalties

If I was to ask you “what will England’s fate be in the next World Cup in Russia?” You are likely to be thinking about a first knockout round defeat at the hands of Germany, on penalties! Or a hammering from world football powerhouses such as Azerbaijan, Montenegro or Albania!

That’s a depressing thought!

However, a more depressing scenario is one in which we are banned from the whole competition due to members of parliament interfering with football matters. It may seem far-fetched but the recent demands for reform within the Football Association from MP’s within the house of commons, could potentially lead to England being banned from FIFA matches.

Play Football Not Politics

If I wanted an ethical answer to a question, perhaps the last people I would ask would be FIFA! (oh and Donald Trump, I forgot about him). They are hardly up there with Mother Teresa in most people’s minds. However, in this case, the rules are very clear and in all honesty, they make sense.

Article 13 paragraph 1 i) states that members are obliged ‘to manage their affairs independently and ensure that their own affairs are not influenced by any third parties’. Article 17 paragraph 1 continues that ‘each member shall manage its affairs independently and with no influence from third parties’.

The rules go on to state, “Violations may also lead to sanctions, even if the third-party influence was not the fault of the member association concerned.”

Has This Ever Happened?

Yes it has! In 2015, the Indonesian Football Association was suspended by FIFA due to the Indonesian government interfering with the country’s domestic league. FIFA barred the national team from the 2018 World Cup qualifiers and also the 2019 Asian Cup. It was stated at the time that FIFA “takes a dim view on government interference” and had previously warned the Indonesian Football Association on several occasions.

They are not the only ones, FIFA suspended the Kuwait Football Association in October 2016 after finding the government had interfered in the team’s affairs. This led to Kuwait having to endure three World Cup qualifying match forfeits.

But the Football Association Does Need Reform

Yes, we hear you, even five ex-leaders of the Football Association wrote to the Government begging for a regulator to be appointed to oversee reforms of the FA as they didn’t believe the FA could manage this transition themselves.

The letter which was signed by three former chairmen – Greg Dyke, Lord Triesman and David Bernstein and also two former chief executives – Alex Horne and David Davies voiced their deep concern at the way that the FA has failed to reform.

The letter was particularly scathing of the FA stating that it was full of ‘elderly white men’ who are unqualified to deal with football’s complexities. Also under attack in the letter was the relationship with the Premier League.

It said, ‘Twenty clubs are in receipt of billions whilst the FA is under threat of losing millions (through lack of reforms) which it gives wholly to grassroots football. To make matters worse, under the bizarre funding formula of the FA, not only does the FA not receive any of the PL billions, it is compelled to contribute tens of millions to the PL which could go to grassroots.’

‘Worse still,’ the letter continued, ‘there are some 25 life vice-presidents on the FA Council — all elderly white men — who do not represent anyone but block even the most minor of changes.’

‘We can testify first hand that the FA’s decision-making structures are arcane and convoluted. The effect is compounded by the stakeholders who collectively exhibit vested interests, intransigence and short-termism at every turn. It is little wonder that English football is out of balance.’

‘’The FA has neither the modernity of approach nor independence required to counter the PL juggernaut. The FA has been given more time to self-reform and therefore we now ask Parliament take this on board, recognise that further promises of change are not serious and legislate as necessary, including the appointment of a regulator, to achieve the changes that are so desperately needed.’

MP’s Lose Patience and Cast a Vote of No Confidence

The letter, which was sent to Damian Collins, chairman of the DCMS (Department for Culture Media and Sports) select committee was damaging for the English Football Association who asked for more time to carry out internal reforms.

By February of 2017, MP’s had lost patience with the English FA and passed a motion of ‘no confidence’ in the FA and warned that the FA could lose as much as £30-£40m of public funding if it does not modernise.

More worrying for English football fans is that MP’s have stated they may pass legislation to introduce a regulator. This would put the English FA on a collision course with FIFA and the possibility of being expelled from international competition.

The best quote from all of this must be that from Conservative MP Damian Collins who stated, “turkeys won’t vote for Christmas” and the FA will refuse to reform themselves.

Is This Likely to Happen?

On the surface, the notion of an English team being banned from International competition seems incredible but many observers feel that if a regulator was introduced then FIFA would ban England, even just to prove to the rest of the world that FIFA itself is reforming. What better way to show that than disciplining the world’s oldest football association?

Only time will tell, however from a personal viewpoint I would question why the FA receives so much public money anyway. This 30 – 40 million could be put into much needed local services. Maybe a tax on transfer fees would help grassroots football better.