Governing Bodies
FLASHBACK: FIFA GETS FIRST NON-EUROPEAN PRESIDENT
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
There have been nine presidents since the world football governing body; FIFA was founded 115 years ago.
But on this date, 11 June 1974, Brazilian, Dr.João Havelange became the first non-European FIFA president as he was elected President by the narrowest of margins in an election that went into the second ballot.
He won 68-52 votes on a second ballot to become president. Sir Stanley Rous, the then President, vacated the position to become Honorary Lifetime President of FIFA.
To achieve his goal, Havelange, a lawyer and businessman, lobbied in 86 different countries for the presidency, often accompanied by Pele and British sports marketer, Patrick Nally.
He depended largely on Africa’s numerical strength. Havelange’s pledge was to develop the role of FIFA and extend its global reach with the aid of commercial sponsorship.
The man, who passed away four years ago at age 100, is generally credited with leading football into the modern era. During his 24 years in charge, FIFA’s seventh President transformed the body into a dynamic enterprise of considerable international standing.
But the latter end of his lifetime before he passed on at Hospital Samaritano, Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, was dogged with allegations of corruption despite creating a huge financial empire for FIFA.
Despite all allegations he remained a towering figure of the 20th century sport. He was a global phenomenon while at the helm of the global football ruling body.
He was the only FIFA President to have reached the milestone age of 100 and also had the second longest tenure after that of Jules Rimet who ruled for 33 years and 112 days.
Havelange was president for 24 years 31 days. He had expected a glamourous 100th birthday. It was not to be.
The low attendance of high profile guests was contrary to the open invitation he offered in 2011 just before the award of the 2016 Olympics to his birthplace, Rio.
Then, Havelange enthusiastically remarked: “I invite you to come celebrate my 100 years in Rio in 2016”.
No thanks to his indictments following the bribery allegation that trailed his exit from office.
Even his associates in FIFA were reluctant to openly associate with him even when Brazil, his homeland hosted the FIFA Confederation Cup and World Cup in 2013 and 2014.
Despite all that, Havelange’s contributions to not just football and FIFA, but to sports generally cannot be ignored.
Most people choose to remember only the bribery allegation and forget all he did for the development of football worldwide.
When all is said and done, the late Havelange remains one of the towering figures of 20th Century sport.
Havelange’s six terms in office, spanning 24 years, witnessed the transformation of football into a global, lucrative sport. He encouraged the development of football in new markets such as Africa, Asia and the US.
As a sports journalist, I had opportunities of meeting him in Canada in 1987, Italy in 1990, Portugal in 1991, China in 1991 and France in 1998.
He never failed to impress me. A good listener whose gait may give deceptive impression of admission of your points, he would suddenly drop his views, which threw one off balance.
On my first occasion of meeting him at a press conference at Holiday Inn at St. John’s, New Found land in Canada in 1987, I marveled as he switched from English to French then to Portuguese and back to English while answering questions. Charles Ojugbana (then of NTA) and myself later took photographs with him.
In the FIFA magazine edition of April 1998, he remarked that in spite of his busy schedule as FIFA president, he personally answered all mails directed to him.
I can attest to this as he answered all my questionnaires mailed to him as a reporter at African Concord magazine in the 1980s.
At the time he took the reins in 1974, FIFA had just two competitions – the World Cup and football in the Olympics.
He expanded the competitions to eight. It was part of his development programme for the Third World countries, especially in Africa and Asia.
The FIFA U-20, U-17, Confederation Cup, Fustal and Women’s World Cup were all introduced under his tenure.
Africa’s slot in the World Cup progressively increased from one to five. He attempted to bridge the gulf in football development of Europe and South America and that of Africa and Asia.
Fifty new associations joined FIFA and he expanded the World Cup from 16 to 32 teams thus improving African countries chances of qualifying. With 207 members, FIFA grew into the world’s largest single sport federation. By way of comparison, the UN had 191 members.
He was able to get China to return to FIFA after 25 years of politically motivated absence.
In conflict resolutions among nations, he was able to bring the two Koreas – the North and South – together to play as a team in the 1991 U-20 World Cup (then called World Youth Championship) in Portugal.
“My biggest disappointment was the inability to find a peaceful, sports-based solution to the Israel and Palestine conflict,” he admitted.
He had a dream of an international match between Israel and Palestine at the UN headquarters in New York.
Under Havelange, FIFA experienced its golden age. “When I arrived (FIFA), I found an old house and $20 in the kitty,” recalled Havelange.
The General Secretary and his family were living in the house, which had just seven staff members. By 1998, FIFA had over 70 workers and a new building.
“On the day I departed 24 years later, I left property and contracts worth over $4 billion.” Under his tutelage, football became a global commodity.
Before Havelange’s tenure, teams had to pay their ways to FIFA competitions, just as delegates to congresses had to do. Under Havelange, teams participating in the World Cup had their expenses underwritten and also got paid for participating.
A commentary ran on him by New York Times in its June 9, 1998 edition described him as a strong willed person who ran FIFA with a combination of autocratic rigidity and progressive reform.
For 24 years, he built FIFA in his image to the point where world leaders had audiences with him, virtually begging for his attention. He met virtually all heads of governments during his tenure.
Such was his influence that he could swing votes to his favoured candidates. A recent example was the award of 2016 Olympic Games to his native Rio, beating former IOC, Juan Samaranch-backed Madrid and a Chicago bid backed by the then US President Barack Obama. An American president is arguably the most powerful man on Planet Earth.
Before becoming the FIFA head, he led Brazilian football in its most successful period. Havelange witnessed his first World Cup as a fan in 1950.
Following Brazil’s 2-1 loss to Uruguay, he reportedly made a firm promise: “If I become president, the trophy will come home to my country.”
Under his presidency of the CBF, Brazil won the World Cup three times in 1958, 1962 and 1970.
Kirsty Coventry became the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the most powerful person in sport, on Monday in a handover ceremony with her predecessor Thomas Bach.
The Zimbabwean is the first woman and African to head the body, and at 41, the youngest since Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who is credited with founding the modern-day Olympics.
Coventry accepted the Olympic key from Bach, who, like her, is an Olympic champion — he won a team fencing gold in 1976 and she earned two swimming golds in 2004 and 2008.
Stepping down after a turbulent 12-year tenure, Bach expressed his confidence that the Olympic movement was “in the best of hands” and Coventry would bring “conviction, integrity and a dynamic perspective” to the role.
Coventry, who swept to a crushing first-round victory in the election in Greece in March, leans heavily on her family.
Aside from her parents, who were present at the ceremony in Lausanne, there is her husband Tyrone Seward, who was effectively her campaign manager, and two daughters, six-year-old Ella, who Bach addresses as “princess”, and Lily, just seven months old.
“Ella saw this spider web in the garden and I pointed out how it is made, and how strong and resilient it is to bad weather and little critters,” said Coventry, who takes over officially at midnight Swiss time Monday (2200 GMT).
“But if one little bit breaks it becomes weaker. That spider web is our movement, it is complex, beautiful and strong but it only works if we remain together and united.”
‘Pure passion’
Coventry said she could not believe how her life had evolved since she first dreamt of Olympic glory in 1992.
“How lucky are we creating a platform for generations to come to reach their dreams,” she said to a packed audience in a marquee in the Olympic House garden, which comprised IOC members, including those she defeated, and dignitaries.
“It is amazing and incredible, indeed I cannot believe that from my dream in 1992 of going to an Olympic Games and winning a medal I would be standing here with you to make dreams for more young children round the world.”
Coventry, who served in the Zimbabwean government as sports and arts Minister from 2019 to this year, said the Olympic movement was much more than a “multi-sport event platform.”
“We (IOC members) are guardians of this movement, which is also about inspiring and changing lives and bringing hope,” she said.
“These things are not to be taken lightly and I will be working with each and every one of you to continue to change lives and be a beacon of hope in a divided world.
“I am really honoured to walk this journey with you.”
Bach, who during his tenure had to grapple with Russian doping and their invasions of the Crimea and Ukraine as well as the Covid pandemic, said he was standing down filled with “gratitude, joy and confidence” in his successor.
“With her election it sends out a powerful message, that the IOC continues to evolve,” said the 71-year-old German, who was named honorary lifetime president in Greece in March.
“It has its first female and African to hold this position, and the youngest president since Pierre de Coubertin. She represents the truly global and youthful spirit of our community.”
Bach, who choked back tears at one point during his valedictory speech, was praised to the rafters by Coventry, who was widely seen as his preferred candidate of the seven vying for his post.
After a warm embrace, she credited him with teaching her to “listen to people and to respect them,” and praised him for leading the movement with “pure passion and purpose.”
“You have kept us united through the most turbulent times.
“You left us with many legacies and hope, thank you from the bottom of my heart for leading us with passion and never wavering from our values.”
-AFP
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Former Zimbabwean swimmer Kirsty Coventry took over the leadership of the International Olympic Committee from Thomas Bach in a ceremony on Monday with the 2028 Los Angeles Games already threatening to fill her in-tray to overflowing.
Coventry, who starts her eight-year spell officially on Tuesday as the most powerful sports administrator in the world, became the first woman and first African to be elected head of the Olympic ruling body in March.
Much of the discussion during campaigning focused on the IOC’s need for change in its marketing strategies with several top Olympic sponsors having left in the past 12 months.
However, with Los Angeles hit by protests against immigration raids, and relations tense between state and city officials, and the U.S. government, the 2028 Games have become the major talking point in the movement that would ordinarily be focusing on next year’s Milano-Cortina Winter Games.
Coventry has long-standing ties with the United States, dating back to her time as a leading swimmer at Auburn University in Alabama. That will prove useful ahead of LA 2028, and she has said she will seek to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump to discuss the Games.
Coventry will also need to find time to help secure the long-term finances of the movement. The IOC, which generates billions of dollars in revenues each year in sponsorship and broadcasting deals for the Olympics, has secured $7.3 billion for 2025-28 and $6.2 billion for 2029-2032. More contracts are expected for both periods.
COMMERCIAL OPPORTUNITIES
Coventry is also expected to continue the IOC’s plans to expand commercial opportunities for sponsors at the Olympics with the organisation’s finances in a robust state and the privately-funded LA Olympics a good place to start.
Coventry needed only one round of voting to clinch the race to succeed Bach, beating six other candidates, making history for the African continent, with the IOC having been ruled for 131 years by European or North American men.
Her background and being the first female president will be assets in a diverse IOC membership and the international makeup of Olympic stakeholders.
On Monday she was handed the golden key to the IOC by Bach, who was the organisation’s president for 12 years.
“I am really honoured I get to walk this journey with you. I cannot wait for anything that lies ahead,” Coventry said in her address to IOC members and other Olympic stakeholders.
“I know I have the best team to support me and our movement over the next eight years.”
Coventry will hold a two-day workshop this week to get feedback from members on key IOC issues.
“Working together and consistently finding ways to strengthen and keep united our movement that will ensure that we wake up daily… to continue to inspire,” she said.
A seven-time Olympic medallist, Coventry won 200m backstroke gold at the 2004 Athens Games and in Beijing four years later.
“With her election, you have also sent a powerful message to the world: the IOC continues to evolve,” Bach said in his speech. “With Kirsty Coventry, the Olympic movement will be in the best of hands.”
-Reuters
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Penalties scored when a player accidentally touches the ball twice must be retaken, world soccer’s lawmaking body IFAB has said after Atletico Madrid’s Julian Alvarez had his spot kick disallowed in a Champions League last-16 match.
During a tense shootout with Real Madrid in March, Argentine forward Alvarez slipped and the VAR spotted that his left foot touched the ball slightly before he kicked it with his right.
Although Alvarez converted the penalty, the goal was chalked off and Atletico went on to lose the shootout and were eliminated from the Champions League.
European soccer’s governing body UEFA said the correct decision was made under the current laws but IFAB (International Football Association Board) has said that in such cases the penalty must be retaken.
Atletico Madrid v Real Valladolid – Metropolitano, Madrid, Spain – April 14, 2025 Atletico Madrid’s Julian Alvarez scores their first goal from the penalty spot REUTERS/Susana Vera/File Photo
“(When) the penalty taker accidentally kicks the ball with both feet simultaneously or the ball touches their non-kicking foot or leg immediately after the kick: if the kick is successful, it is retaken,” IFAB said in a circular.
“If the kick is unsuccessful, an indirect free kick is awarded (unless the referee plays advantage when it clearly benefits the defending team). In the case of penalties (penalty shootout), the kick is recorded as missed.”
The decision to disallow Alvarez’s penalty left Atletico boss Diego Simeone livid and the club’s fans outraged.
IFAB added that if the penalty taker deliberately kicks the ball with both feet or deliberately touches it a second time, an indirect free kick is awarded or, in the case of shootouts, it is recorded as missed.
The new procedures are effective for competitions starting on or after July 1, but IFAB said it may be used in competitions that start this month.
-Reuters
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