"Now it all came together for Alexander. His success as a conqueror, coupled with his mother's revelations of her divine encounter, caused the impressionable young king to become convinced he was descended from the Olympian gods."
-Comments on Alexander the Great in the book Power, Ambition and Glory
It has been said that while "power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely." For many leaders, entertainers, businessmen, power is like an expanding virus that has the capacity to produce feelings of invincibility, divinity etc. Before we go to the sporting arena, we can focus briefly on a hedge-fund billionaire, Raj Rajaratnam. Now in case you don't know, a jury in lower Manhattan has found him guilty on all 14 counts of securities fraud and conspiracy. At the end of the trial Raj, which means the king, faces up to 25 years in prison. Perhaps he will get a royal cell, with palatial food especially, for kings do not like to disappear quietly. It is clear that King Sepp was not going to allow Jack or bin Hamman to move him out of the spotlight. But all politicians, FIFA officials, IOC gurus and their power brokers should pay attention to remarks made by Priest Bahara, the US attorney for Manhattan: "Like so many others recently, he let greed and corruption cause his undoing."
The PP Government must take warning and must seek to avoid corruption scandals dominating its tenure. PM Kamla Persad-Bissessar and Cabinet should recall the Udecott fiasco, the Calder Hart enigma that eventually catapulted the PNM out of Whitehall. Those who forget history are condemned, even doomed, to repeat that history. Very few leaders of an ultra rich organisation are going to give up that position very easily without a clear and stunning fight. Friends will become enemies, and enemies will become friends via the bribery route. The intrigue of the Armageddonic struggle between King Blatter, Blazer, Warner, bin Hamman and others only needs Michael Jackson's song Thriller to put the icing on a bloody and humiliating cake. This has not been a good time for FIFA. I was told that FIFA officials do not get salaries, they receive gifts. Mr Warner said to the international media that Blatter must be stopped. A few days later, he advised, after being banned, that Concacaf should display principled conduct and vote for Blatter.
Now I am understanding that FIFA leadership candidates can afford to send money to different federations across the planet to facilitate their campaign. I even heard an official from the Grenadian FA stating that this organisation received rescue funding: $150,000. He dared to state that our banned vice-president, Mr Warner, ensured that Carib-bean nations benefitted from the FIFA cash vault. In other words, Warner fought for the underprivileged nations so that the powerful nations did not grab all. Of course, by now we know that King Sepp came first in the one-man race. Well some would say it depends on how you look at it, because you could also say that he came last. My goodness, it is all about perspective. When King Sepp faced the international media as a lone ranger, he added a spectacular spin to the word "crisis." Crisis? What crisis? He opined. Difficulties? Yes! Crisis? No! And then he went on to state that the difficulties could be solved within the family.
I am sure that when he used that kind of language that the Colombian, Sicilian and Russian cartel must have blushed with envy. But I warn all the mafiatic gurus that the longest day, like the longest rope, has an end-and sometimes the end is not just worse than the beginning, but a bitter end. Now for some critical questions for perennial King Sepp and his newly elected cabinet: If bin Hamman was not a candidate opposing the king, would this bribery bacchanal have surfaced? If the USA had won the bid to host the World Cup, would Blazer have made the allegations about bribery and corruption? Does the organisational structure of FIFA resemble the international mafiatic pyramid? Can King Sepp lead a radical movement to restore the damaged image of FIFA when he has been part of the organisation for several decades? And my last question: Can Dr Henry Kissinger, former powerful US Secretary of State, make a difference?
In terms of the English FA, it was calling for a postponement of the elections, which would have sent strong signals that FIFA had the will to clean up its act. But alas, this did not happen and the unopposed proved that he had awesome power. Subsequently, we are hearing about grand promises to reform but millions of people around the world believe that there will be cosmetic changes, but significant structural transformation will not take place. What is painful and even heartbreaking is that billions of people around the globe are fans and ardent followers of the game. Some love Messi, others love Rooney and Ronaldo, some love Manchester United while some love Barce-lona. Football is called the beauti- ful game, but with the swirling controversy "tornadorising" the game, it appears that "ugly," "ignoble" administrators are damaging its credibility. Crazy stuff!
Is there any room in FIFA for integrity, courage and decency? Many should recall the encounter recorded in the Bible about the rich young ruler and Jesus Christ. The rich young ruler wanted eternal life and Christ advised him to sell his assets and give to the poor. This recommendation produced not only silence but sadness. He left the presence of Christ with a heavy heart. Apparently, the USA and the UK believed that Jack's power in FIFA was increasing, but the reality may be that his power was decreasing. If after the investigation he is not exonerated, there may be a political tsunami that could facture an unstable partnership. After reading the Godfather, I came to a few conclusions about organised crime. The first is that you cannot challenge the Don. And the second is that you cannot even appear to be supporting the challenger. Finally, the third lesson is that there is no room for losers, only winners. How sad!