Someone must challenge FIFA

The Football Association's decision to abstain from the FIFA Presidential Vote garnered unwanted criticism in the press at home.

There is no shame in rejecting both candidates and ticking 'none of the above'. On the contrary, it sends a clear message that FIFA is foul and needs change.

Sepp Blatter had a cheek to visit Wembley in search of a vote when he had personally done to much to derail England's 2018 World Cup bid only months earlier, while Mohamed Bin-Hammam is sadly cut from the same cliquey cloth and like Jack 'Pirate of the Caribbean' Warner, has also been implicated in ticket touting.

Whatever he says, Bin-Hammam has no real interest in transparency. Can he really enjoy reading the revelations of how his country bought the 2022 World Cup finals in spite of its merciless summer heat, medieval laws and an obvious lack of a football heritage?

Until such time as the FA cleans out FIFA from the inside, which is a pipe-dream given how few allies it has in Zurich, the world's oldest soccer organisation should proceed with Plan B, a clandestine mustering of rival forces to launch a counter organisation. Football might be in chaos for a couple of years until a rapprochement occurs, and a World Cup could be ruined by a global split, but FIFA's persistent refusal to open its doors to scrutiny and fairness when the whole world is holding it in contempt will only be to blame.

Associations worldwide are as fed up with the cabal in Switzerland as the fans are but they keep schtum because there is no leader to mobilise the groundswell of dissatisfaction into serious opposition. England as the motherland of the game is the obvious instigator of a revolt, but this plan needs preparation before execution. So far, the evidence of a desire to challenge FIFA is thin on the ground, meaning we can expect more of the same from Blatter & Co., ensconced in their legally-untouchable Swiss bunker.

The alternative to revolt is to grin and bear it forever. The Augean stables just will not be cleaned from the inside as long as Warner, Nicolas Leoz and chums sit tight or laugh all the way to the bank. Just look at how CONCACAF re-elected the uber-crook as their boss this month, unanimously.

Waiting for Michel Platini to break his silence and change into Captain Reformer is futile as it may never happen.

Enough is enough. It is time for rebellion.

Now will somebody please step forward?

(c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile

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