Trouble Brewing for Indonesia 2018 Bid

Things have certainly been interesting lately in Indonesian football, haven’t they? First there was the defeat to Oman last week, knocking them out of the Asian Cup. Then there was the disgruntled fan who decided that if his team could not find the net for the equalizer, he might as well run onto the pitch and give it a go himself (The Omani keeper was apparently as adept at stopping the Indonesian fans as he was at stopping its national team).

Now the Indonesian World Cup bid chief, Nurdin Halid, who has been facing repeated calls for his resignation, faces an even more difficult challenge. The Indonesian government may not get behind the bid at all!

In December, the Indonesian Football Federation said that a lack of support from the government would cause them to withdraw their bid. At present, it would be hard to blame government officials, many of whom have long questioned the wisdom of devoting the required funds to hosting the World Cup, given the poor state of Football in their own country. Whether Halid resigns as bid chief is difficult to predict, but it will take a lot more than a leadership change to save the runaway train that is Indonesia’s World Cup bid.

Why the Big 2018-2022 World Cup Bid Nations Can Kiss Africa Goodbye

I’ve been following the ballyhoo over Confederation of African Football’s sponsorship deal with Qatar, the tiny Arab state that wants to host the 2022 World Cup. At first look, I thought “much ado about nothing”. Qatar certainly negotiated a brilliant deal that gives them exclusive, free reign to showcase its 2022 bid at the 29 January CAF Congress in Angola. But FIFA has already ruled that the agreement is legal and no one has actually submitted a formal complaint about it. The Brits have even said they are “relaxed” about the deal. So why the gallons of ink spilled over the matter?

A deeper look tells me that it’s not Qatar that the two, big country critics have a problem with. Qatar made a great deal in a legal negotiation. No, it’s CAF that the critics are targeting. But it’s a classic case of projecting ones failures onto others. And not thinking up an exclusive sponsorship agreement with CAF is, at the end of the day, a strategic failure.

I can’t help but think that there is even more going on here. There’s a whiff of colonial entitlement in the outrage being expressed by the big country critics of the African-Qatar deal. What’s implicit in their complaints of the deal is that CAF is somehow unprofessional, or worse, unable to manage its own affairs…at least to the satisfaction of rich, big bidding nations.

In the end, questioning the judgment of CAF won’t prove to be a good strategy for anyone hoping to appeal to crucial African FIFA voters (there are four) for the 2018-2022 World Cup. Africa, which is about to host the 2010 World Cup, deserves respect as a force for football’s future. Now, especially in the wake of the horrifying attacks on the Togolese team in Angola this week, all of African football deserves our support. The attacks on CAF’s professionalism and capability demonstrate neither.

Please Support African Football in Wake of Togo's Tragedy

The news of the horrific attack on Togo's national football team bus in Angola is sad for many reasons. We mourn the loss of life above all. But although the team was not seen as a major contender in the Africa Cup of Nations tournament, the incident marks a sad beginning of a year in the spotlight for African football with South Africa set to become the continent's first country to host the FIFA World Cup.

As you know, the Togolese team has now withdrawn from the tournament. But I call upon all football fans to not change their plans to attend the World Cup in the wake of this tragedy. It took far too long for FIFA to recognize the need to bring the World Cup to Africa, which will inject cash and world attention on African football as never before. If you were planning on attend, please stay the course. If you weren't previously planning to go, please reconsider. There is so much at stake in showing your support for African football.