FIFA has ‘not changed’ and decisions still lack transparency, says former governance chief
He was tasked with cleaning up FIFA.
And there is credit from Miguel Maduro for more rigorous spending controls since Gianni Infantino replaced the discredited Sepp Blatter.
But the former governance chief of football’s governing body has told Sky News of concerns FIFA has “backtracked” and the biggest decisions appear to lack transparency and openness again with World Cup hosts “cooked internally”.
The months of scrutiny and campaigning before a big reveal have been eradicated with opponents limited and deterred in a fast-tracked route for Saudi Arabia being handed the 2034 men’s showpiece.
Any pretence of a process after Mr Infantino undercut FIFA’s insistence bidding assessments were still required by effectively confirming the kingdom’s win on Instagram on Tuesday night.
“They have not changed with the reforms of 2015, unfortunately,” Mr Maduro, a former advocate general at the European Court of Justice, told Sky News.
“I thought it was only a matter of time until they will go back to publicly do things as they have always done in the past in this opaque, non-transparent, non-accountable way.”
FIFA provided no direct response to his claims, but the governing body last week insisted it is now run with the “highest ethical and governance standards” in a statement on a separate matter.
The World Cup is the jewel in FIFA’s crown – generating most of its £6.6bn revenue in the 2019-2022 cycle covering Qatar 2022.
Staging the tournament provides countries a platform to brandish their clout on the world stage beyond the sports sphere and attempt to cleanse their image.
The contentious dual award of Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022 during a tainted vote in 2010 led to the Blatter-era leadership being toppled and reforms that handed the hosting decision to the congress of 211 football nations.
So, the 2026 World Cup was a hotly contested decision with Morocco losing to the combined United States-Canada-Mexico entry with the voters’ picks all made public.
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Saudi Arabia is set to host the men’s 2034 World Cup
But there will not be multiple options presented to the congress for 2030 and 2034 after FIFA’s leadership secured ratification from its ruling council of 37 members for a process that effectively ensured sole bidders.
It was suddenly announced four weeks ago that the rival bids for the 2030 World Cup were being combined to create an unprecedented six-nation, three-continent event across Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.
After the same FIFA Council meeting a rapid process for the 2034 tournament was unexpectedly revealed that gave countries until this Tuesday to submit their interest.
The timeframe was too tight for a country like Australia to pursue its planned bid – especially with its own Asian Football Confederation already lining up behind the Saudis.
Football Australia CEO James Johnson told Sky News: “We had some conversations with people around FIFA about what our chances might be for the 2034 men’s World Cup. And ultimately, I like to bet on sure things. I didn’t feel that we had enough to win.”
Everything had been aligning towards Saudi Arabia which has wooed Mr Infantino in recent years and he has been enchanted by the kingdom welcoming him into its gilded power circles.
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Infantino insists FIFA has been a ‘pioneer’ for the women’s game
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Regular encounters with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and trips to Saudi have paid off for the oil-rich nation – securing the most prestigious football event without any vote after a favourable process that required only four existing stadiums of the 14 required by FIFA in time for 2034.
Mr Maduro said: “They promised a much higher degree of transparency on how the bidding was going to take place. We saw nothing of that type in this process.
“Basically, it is something that was cooked internally, within what I usually call the political cartel that dominates FIFA, in such a way that there is no option now but basically the award of the two World Cups to pre-established candidates.”
There are certain commitments to publish an evaluation of the uncontested bid but it is unclear how public the human rights risk assessment will be of anti-LGBTQ+ laws, women’s rights and working conditions.
Mr Maduro said: “Whatever assessment will take place now will be meaningless, because everybody knows who is going to get it.”
FIFA removed Mr Maduro from its position chairing the governance committee in 2017 after less than a year in the role at the start of the Infantino presidency.
The awarding of the men’s 2022 World Cup to Qatar by FIFA proved to be highly controversial
The lawyer said from Portugal: “There were a series of promises and commitments that were made after the scandals of 2015.
“Some of those commitments were regarding precisely how the World Cup was going to be awarded and the bidding process was going to take place.
“And basically what this tells us is that FIFA has not lived up to those commitments and those promises – it has actually backtracked on the reform process that they had initiated.”
FIFA insists the spread of nations for the 2026, 2030 and 2034 World Cups promote inclusion.
But it’s the men being prioritised.
The next Women’s World Cup is four years away and without a host.
Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s former “thug” and “pit bull”, has been accused of lying about a phone call he says he made to the former US president about payments to ex porn star Stormy Daniels.
Cohen, a lawyer who worked for the Trump Organisation from 2006 to 2017, has been giving evidence in the case about hush money payments to Ms Daniels – in an attempt to cover up an alleged sexual encounter in 2006.
Trump’s lawyer, Todd Blanche, called into question an important detail – a phone call made by Cohen to Trump’s assistant, Keith Schiller, on 24 October 2016.
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Cohen, 57, has maintained that during that call he spoke to Trump (who was either given the phone by Mr Schiller or placed on loudspeaker – we don’t know which) and told him he had paid Ms Daniels $130,000 in hush money on his behalf.
But Mr Blanche called this into doubt – showing the jury a number of interactions suggesting Cohen was in contact with Mr Schiller about a different issue at the same time, namely that he was receiving harassing phone calls and texts from a 14-year-old child.
“That was a lie – you did not talk to President Trump on that night, you talked to Keith Schiller about what we just went through,” Mr Blanche said.
Cohen said that, based on his records, he believes he spoke to Trump about the Stormy Daniels matter.
“We are not asking for your belief,” Mr Blanche said. “This jury does not want to hear what you think happened.”
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Donald Trump in court on Thursday. Pic: Reuters
That exchange was part of several hours of questioning which apparently sought to paint a picture of Cohen as someone who is eager to see his former boss behind bars.
Mr Blanche played jurors audio clips of Cohen saying the case “fills me with delight” and that imagining Trump and his family in prison made him feel “giddy with hope and laughter”.
“Does the outcome of this trial affect you personally?” Mr Blanche asked.
“Yes,” Cohen replied. He is due to return to the witness stand on Monday.
Michael Cohen (right) was Donald Trump’s fixer. Pic: AP
Cohen worked as the former president’s fixer. He once described himself as Trump’s “spokesman, thug, pit bull and lawless lawyer”.
He once said he would take a bullet for his boss and admitted at the end of questioning on Tuesday that he “violated my moral compass” while working for Trump.
Hush money payouts are not illegal, but Trump is accused of falsifying business records to hide it – a claim he denies.
Cristiano Ronaldo has topped Forbes’ list of highest-paid athletes for the fourth time in his career.
Spanish golfer Jon Rahm took second place following his switch to Saudi-backed LIV Golf.
Ronaldo became the world’s highest-paid athlete after his move to Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr and Forbes said the 39-year-old’s estimated total earnings were around $260m (£205m) – an all-time high for a football player.
Jon Rahm came in second. Pic: Jeff Faughender/USA TODAY Sports/Reuters
His on-field earnings amounted to $200m (£158m) while off-field he earned $60m (£47m) thanks to sponsorship deals where brands make use of his 629 million Instagram followers.
Rahm earned $218m (£172m) and joins Ronaldo as the only two athletes to earn over $200m.
Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi. Pic: David Kirouac/USA TODAY Sports/Reuters
Third on the list is record eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi, who switched to Major League Soccer team Inter Miami, which helped the Argentine World Cup winner earn $135m (£107m).
The 36-year-old earned $65m (£51m) in on-field earnings but $70m (£55m) off it from deals with major sponsors such as Adidas and Apple.
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James came in fourth at $128m (£101m), while fellow NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks made fifth with $111m (£88m).
France football captain Kylian Mbappe dropped down to sixth with $110m (£87m).
Neymar, who also moved to the Saudi Pro League to join Al-Hilal, is seventh with $108m (£85m), despite sitting out the majority of the season with a torn ACL.
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French striker Karim Benzema, who also moved to Saudi Arabia, is eighth on the list with $106m (£84m), followed by Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry with $102m (£80m).
Lamar Jackson is the only NFL player on the list, in 10th place with $101m (£80m), thanks to the signing bonus negotiated into his new Baltimore Ravens contract last year.
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