Infantino’s rotten Fifa reign calls Motsepe’s morality into question

There was this legend during the dictatorial and corrupt reign of Sepp Blatter as president of Fifa that he considered himself the second-most-important human being on the planet after the pope. So much so that the protocol officers were told to adjust his requirements to just a tiny notch below that of the pontiff. 

For instance, if protocol dictated that the pope take only three steps from the door of an aeroplane into an awaiting car, Blatter insisted that his steps be four.

Such was the outsized ego of the man who ruled world football with an iron fist and commanded authority through patronage. The irony of Blatter’s delusions of grandeur did not, however, extend to aspiring to the holiness side of things. He was widely considered one of the most corrupt leaders on the world stage during his tenure at the helm of Fifa, compared by some to despotic generals and Mafia bosses. 

The brave and celebrated journalist Andrew Jennings, who wrote several books and produced explosive investigative stories about the inner workings of football’s governing body, aptly said that “under former presidents (Jao) Havelange and Blatter Fifa was an organised crime syndicate”.

Despite his rotten reputation, Blatter won five successive elections, which saw him run the organisation from 1998 to 2015. He was forced to resign shortly after his 2015 victory, after the FBI pounced on some of his powerful lieutenants for corrupt activities. The Teflon Don himself was left unscathed and, because he covered his tracks so well, the 90-year-old is living out his last years close to his hometown in the Swiss Alps with no fear of ever having to account for his transgressions.

Much of the raw material that eventually brought Blatter down and led to his sidekicks being brought to justice came from the incredible work that Jenkins had done.

Explaining why this obviously filthy man had been given mandate after mandate to run Fifa, Jenkins pointed to the man’s patronage system. He had cynically exploited the majority poor countries in Fifa’s 200-plus-member ecosystem and plied their associations with so-called development funds (which mostly end up in executives’ pockets rather in worthy projects) and also plied the same executives with direct moola (which went straight into the pockets where it was supposed to go).

“The delegates that will vote for him are from countries that don’t have professional football, [and] are given a million dollars a year to spend on development grants. So they’ll vote for him. No credibility,” said Jenkins before the 2015 vote.

Infantino adopts the playbook

His successor, erstwhile Uefa secretary-general Gianni Infantino, came with great promises of exorcising his evil spirit. Besides undertaking to root out corruption, he pledged to put football, and not the politics of football, back at the centre of Fifa’s work. He said he would work to unite Fifa after the divisive leadership of his predecessor, who had set the associations of the developed nations against those from the needier nations that he manipulated with his patronage.

“… We will restore the image of Fifa and the respect of Fifa, and everyone in the world will applaud us and will applaud all of you for what we’ll do in Fifa in the future. We have to be proud of Fifa, and everyone has to be proud of Fifa and we have to be proud of what we’ll do together in Fifa,” the triumphant Italian told the delegates.

He has done anything but that. He adopted Blatter’s playbook. The image of Fifa is in tatters, largely as a result of his doing. The world is not applauding but is angry at the organisation because it prioritises its own greed at the expense of the fans. Politics has become much more central to the organisation’s work, with Infantino sidling up to the presidents, kings and sheikhs like slime on a dirty surface.

The stink of corruption engulfs Fifa more than at any time during Blatter’s tenure. Instead of aspiring to be the planet’s second-most-powerful person after the holy man in Rome, as Blatter did, he wants to be the most powerful person after the sleazebag in the White House.

Patronage is more rampant than ever. As with Blatter, Infantino guarantees re-election by dishing out dollars. The leaders of poorer regions have been the biggest beneficiaries, with vote-rich Africa being the biggest guarantor of Infantino’s longevity. The continent has 54 votes in the 211-member federation, just one less than Uefa.

Motsepe’s unflinching loyalty

Amid calls for Infantino’s resignation, CAF this month unblinkingly endorsed his re-election at next year’s congress in March. After a meeting of its executive committee, the organisation said it had “unanimously reconfirmed” its support for Fifa president Gianni Infantino and thanked him for his support of African football over ‌the years.  

Central to this unbridled support is a man called Patrice Motsepe, someone that many South Africans think would be suitable to lead the country when President Cyril Ramaphosa’s term ends in a few years.

Motsepe has been embarrassingly craven in his backing for Infantino, always citing the latter’s supposed love for Africa. Forget about the character of the weasel, his scandals, his dictatorial tendencies, his divisive leadership, his embrace of the white supremacist at the White House and his preservation of the worst traits of the Blatter legacy. Yes, forget about all of those. So long as Blatter looks after Africa’s pickaninnies, he is one of us.

“I personally support Gianni Infantino. He’s ‌not just a good friend. He’s a loyal friend. He’s loyal to Africa. I come from a background where, when people have been loyal to you, you never stab them in the back,” Motsepe proclaimed as outrage escalated at Infantino’s attempt to sell Fifa’s soul to the Trump dynasty.

Issa Hayatou, the long-serving and notoriously corrupt despot that Motsepe replaced as president of CAF, was happy to offer Africa’s servitude to the highest bidder. Ethics and morality mattered little to him, and the culture of corruption in African football under him became endemic.

Like Infantino, Motsepe came into office with rosy promises of governance reform, cleaning up the image of African football and improving the finances of the federation and its affiliates. On the last score he has delivered, thanks largely to his bromance with Infantino. Prize money for tournaments has ballooned, as have allocations for member federations. What hasn’t changed is the rotten culture that puts the suits before the players and the persistent corruption that has plagued the continental game for as long as memory goes.

Motsepe will probably pat himself on the back and bask in the praise he has received for improving the financial lot of African football. He will argue that the benefits of his relationship with Infantino far outweigh any concerns about the man’s putrid soul.

He will disregard the disunity in global football that Infantino has exacerbated and point out that the revolt is led by the developed world which cares little about the needs of poorer nations. The mantra of “We are Infantino” will ring loud across the continent as Fifa heads towards its congress. If Infantino survives the calls for his resignation and his name is on the ballot, he should stroll to victory in March. And Africa will continue to be a vassal, totally bereft of dignity.

As for Motsepe, his own sense of morality must be called into question if he is to be so unflinchingly loyal to an individual who thinks ethical behaviour is some abstract concept. DM