Can football break Fifa's hold on it?



The outcome of the two-day hearing was so expected that the man at the middle of the scandal didn't bother turning up for the decision.

On Saturday, Qatar's Mohamed bin Hammam, a Fifa executive committee member and president of the Asian Football Federation, was banned from football for life after being found guilty of bribery by the ruling body's ethics committee.

While many expected the outcome, Mr bin Hammam has vowed to appeal. But if Fifa believes this decision will put to rest talk of corruption within its ranks, it is sadly mistaken.

Allegations of dirty dealings within Fifa are legend, and start at the very top. Yet because football's governing body does not fall under any legal jurisdiction, it essentially polices itself. In cases of alleged wrongdoing, only Fifa can investigate Fifa. For an organisation that controls billions in revenue and acts as guardian for the planet's best-loved sport, this seems a recipe for impropriety.

Perhaps it's time then for Fifa to answer to a higher power, political or otherwise, in the same way that countries answer to international bodies on justice. Surely there are ways to limit Fifa's power.

Sponsors have a responsibility in this regard - not to mention an image to protect. Their dollars pay for Fifa's operations, but why would football's tiny cabal change its ways if cash is still flowing? It wouldn't.

Ultimately, though, football's best hope to clean itself up may come from within football itself. While the World Cup remains the sport's premiere competition - and Fifa's quadrennial cash cow - club competitions are more important for most fans. Indeed, there is little doubt that the Uefa Champions League now annually draws the highest quality of football, best players and most sponsorship.

The Union of European Football Associations, as Uefa is formally known, remains loyal to Fifa, but for how long? The fastest way to force Fifa's hand would be for the powerful individual football associations of Europe's top four countries - England, Spain, Italy and Germany - to challenge Fifa's authority, and demand more transparency.

Fifa's lock on global football is tight but not ironclad. Breaking its hold on the sport might be the best way to preserve it.

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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
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The Sand Castle

Director: Matty Brown

Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea

Rating: 2.5/5

'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse Of Madness' 

   

 

Director: Sam Raimi

 

Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, Xochitl Gomez, Michael Stuhlbarg and Rachel McAdams

 

Rating: 3/5

 
German intelligence warnings
  • 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
  • 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
  • 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250 

Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Emergency

Director: Kangana Ranaut

Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry 

Rating: 2/5

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Brief scoreline:

Liverpool 2

Keita 5', Firmino 26'

Porto 0