{"id":196942,"date":"2016-03-08T11:00:14","date_gmt":"2016-03-08T11:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/?p=196942"},"modified":"2016-03-08T11:00:14","modified_gmt":"2016-03-08T11:00:14","slug":"rahman-writes-why-africa-is-panicking-over-fifas-infantino","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2016\/03\/rahman-writes-why-africa-is-panicking-over-fifas-infantino\/","title":{"rendered":"Rahman writes: Why Africa is panicking over Fifa\u2019s Infantino"},"content":{"rendered":"
Let me take this opportunity to congratulate you, Mr. Gianni Infantino, for winning the historic FIFA elections, yeah historic because it still feels somewhat weird to think of a FIFA president than Sepp Blatter.<\/p>\n
It was a huge surprise here in Africa especially since CAF made most of us understand that Sheikh Salman Bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa was the right man to take up the mantle of leadership from Sepp Blatter.<\/p>\n
You have done well and my hope is that you are able to reinstate confidence and repair the damaged integrity of our beloved game.<\/p>\n
One of the scandalous sentences that even hurt me was when Ex-Portugal and Ex-Real Madrid star Luis Figo said, \u201cwhen you Google FIFA what comes out is corruption\u201d.<\/p>\n
I am very certain that most of the various Association Presidents here in Africa are still recovering from the shock that you pulled off in Zurich by winning the elections.<\/p>\n
But my sincere opinion is that I think that having you as President of FIFA could be a blessing for the continent of Africa. You have proven during your time as General Secretary of UEFA that your ultimate interest lies in the overall development of the game.<\/p>\n
I admit that Blatter held a strong influence here in Africa and rightfully so because he did a lot for this continent.<\/p>\n
His ideas and love for Africa inadvertently turned out to be counterproductive. The presidents of our federations became lazy.<\/p>\n
They relied on the monies he provided yearly and refused to think outside the box to improve the game in their various countries. Going by what I have seen in your first few days in office and your track record from UEFA, I think they will be compelled to think outside the box.<\/p>\n
The Blatter factor and Africa<\/strong><\/p>\n