Dublin to host UEFA power play

Dublin is to be the venue for discussions which threaten to blow the whistle on football's claim to be the most global and tightly knit fraternity, in international sport.

For the first time in its history, the European Union of Football Associations (UEFA) has chosen to stage its annual congress in Dublin on April 30th.

And the word among the political activists in the organisation, is that it will mark an intensification of the campaign to return the power base of the sport to Europe for the first time since Dr Joao Havelange of Brazil succeeded Sir Stanley Rous as president of FIFA more than 20 years ago.

Now Havelange's reign, perceived by his critics as having more to do with power than progress, is drawing to a close. And the election to replace him during FIFA's congress at Paris in June, is seen as holding just as much excitement and infinitely more intrigue, than the World Cup finals which follow.

The Brazilian is one of the three most influential administrators in sport. And no less than Juan Samaranch, president of the International Olympic Committee and Primo Nebiolo who heads the International Amateur Athletics Federation, his autocratic reign has spawned some nakedly ambitious pretenders to the throne.

No sooner had Havelange announced his intention of abdicating during the congress in Paris, then an unseemly dispute erupted around the two principal aspirants, Joseph S. Blatter, FIFA's general secretary, and UEFA's avuncular president, Lennart Johansson of Sweden.

Blatter, a Swiss national, is Havelange's preferred option. Energetic and extrovert, he has stood accused in certain quarters of unashamedly turning televised World Cup draws into personal promotion shows.

A European by birth, he is seen by the president and, by extension the South American bloc, as the one most likely to maintain the status quo and resist UEFA's crusade for a bigger input in the decision-making process.

Much of the criticism against him in recent months has centred on his continuing to hold down the post of general secretary of the world body, at a time when he is actively campaigning for support in the succession stakes.

At different times, he was reported to be in and out of the race but his candidature is now accepted as a formality when the deadline for applications for the coveted job, expires at midnight next Tuesday.

Johansson, a former president of the Swedish FA, is seen as closer to the rank and file of the sport than Blatter. Yet in terms of personal ambition, he would appear to have little to learn from FIFA's urbane secretary.

Ironically, at a time when he was pillorying Blatter for using his office to galvanise support for his campaign, Johansson was himself, guilty of turning the televised draw for the European 2000 Championship in Ghent last January, into an electioneering stunt.

The Swede, who would like to be projected as a true democrat, is basing his campaign on the need for greater transparency in the workings of one of the world's biggest organisations. And in the authentic manner of the opportunist politician, he is promising bigger cash handouts from FIFA's television income, to member federations, if elected.

In the whole unedifying process, there are those mischievous enough to suggest that Havelange is secretly hoping for an impasse to promote his hopes of another term in high office. Now there's a thought to concentrate minds in the coming weeks and months!