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I’m all
for unification and transparency,” said Mari Martinez in
the Philippine Sportswriters’ Association Forum last
week, where he was formally introduced as the heir to
Johnny Romualdez as president of the Philippine Football
Federation (PFF).
Unification? Transparency? So, how transparent were the
recent PFF elections?
There
were 30 heads of the PFF present (out of the 32) and
during the voting, one abstained. The results, as
everyone knows by now turned out 15-14, in favor of
Martinez, a national player back in the 1970s. His rival
for the association’s top post was the PFF’s (and now
former) publicist Ed Formoso. There were other
candidates as well, but they all dropped out of the race
before the elections.
The
PFF’s election is like any other voting process—it’s a
numbers game. Except that the federation’s bylaws state
that for a candidate to be declared the winner, he or
she must have a winning margin of at least two votes.
Romualdez said that faced with an impasse, he made a
judgment call (and that was to pronounce
Martinez as the winner) for two reasons. One, there is a phrase in
the bylaws that refers to the members present in that
particular congress. Since there were 29 members who
voted, it’s not mathematically possibly to have the
two-vote margin.
Sorry,
but that’s a lot like what passes for officiating
nowadays…it sucks. Why was there haste to declare a
winner? Was it done to prepare for the arrival of Fifa
president Joseph Blatter? If that was the case, then the
elections should have been conducted earlier. After all,
we don’t have a football team going to Thailand for the
Southeast Games because the Philippine Sports Commission
or whoever calls the shots deemed that the team had no
chance of competing for a medal. So just how busy is
everyone? Clearly our football scene leaves so much to
be desired, but everyone knows that already.
So why
wasn’t a revote called for? Why weren’t the three other
absent association heads asked to cast their vote, more
so since it was such an important matter? The second
reason, according to Romualdez, is by the time the
results came out, some of the delegates had left and to
call for reelections would cost the federation another
P300,000.
Ah,
these may not be the most proper of ways, but has anyone
heard of e-mail? How about teleconferencing. Yahoo
Messenger? Think of what monies will be saved even if
Cebu Pacific has made air travel ridiculously
affordable. If one still finds that expensive, then
maybe since this is football, it should have gone down
to penalty kicks. Now there’s no way that will end in
controversy unless someone complains that the keeper
straddled far from his line and did the spaghetti legs
dance of Bruce Grobbelaar. And keep in mind that in the
case of the voting for a new pope, it takes the world’s
cardinals several days, weeks, or God-knows-how-long, to
arrive at a decision because the choice they make must
be the proper one.
Prior to
my conversation with Mr. Romualdez over the cell phone,
I tried getting in touch with other persons connected to
the PFF. One changed the topic. Another said, “I don’t
think that would be prudent. It’s gotten complicated as
it is.” Another former member of the Romualdez
administration said, “It’s all messed up.”
I
couldn’t have said it better myself.
Were
Formoso’s ideas too radical? And that Ed looks like a
member of the Grateful Dead? Last time we all checked
the guys in the suits and the Salvatore Ferragamo shoes
didn’t do jack. And no wonder, they’re wearing the wrong
boots.
“I hope
to discuss with Mr. Blatter ways that Fifa can help us
regain the glory we used to enjoy in football a long
time ago,” also said Martinez to the assembled media.
Why do
we always have to ask for help? If it weren’t for Fifa’s
funding, there wouldn’t be a PFF or even a House of
Football that is being put up along motel alley in Pasig.
As I wrote back then, it sure is a delight for those
with a foot fetish. Footsy on one side. Football on the
other. Whoopee!
It has
to start from within. Look into ourselves. Start with
ourselves. We can’t even have a united football
association. There is much mistrust among each other
where everyone tries to protect his turf. During the
opening of the UAAP’s football season in January, I had
to sit between Romualdez and the head of one association
because the tension was so thick, you could cut it with
a butter knife.
Politics. We should keep it out of sport, yet it’s
become our national sport.
There
was a magnificent opportunity for a fresh start or even
to extend some goodwill by doing the right thing.
Instead, they—like many of our national
officials—dropped the ball on this one.
Hey, has
any one heard about the guy Mari Martinez (in one of his
first acts as president) fired from the PFF?
Over at
Anfield, there’s a case brewing over the public
insubordination of head gaffer Rafael Benitez regarding
his row with one of Liverpool FC’s American owners in
Tom Hicks.
Benitez
grumbled in the media that the owners are not releasing
funds to sign a player (Javier Mascherano) their side
will need for the long haul. He also opined rather
loudly that management didn’t understand the importance
of January 2008’s transfer window, where they can pick
up more players for their domestic and European
campaigns.
Hicks,
in turn, told him to clam up and make use of the players
whom he acquired and play football. Furthermore, he
should wait for their meeting on December 16. Hicks’s
statement also fueled speculation that Benitez could be
axed anytime, more so since the Liverpool was in a
perilous situation regarding advancing farther into the
next round of the Champions League and is two big wins
behind the Premiership leaders Arsenal.
Everyone’s curious how the Americans will maneuver their
way around this as most people, whether rightly or
wrongly, are siding with the Spaniard. Despite the
Americans’ initial help, they still aren’t wholly
welcomed in England. I guess they’re taking it bad that
their top clubs are owned and managed by foreigners.
Even lots of their stars aren’t English. So England,
what’s wrong with the picture here?
Benitez
put his team together and if he thinks he doesn’t have
the players, then he should blame himself. And with
regard to the Premiership and England, now you know why
the Americans are under assault in the world basketball
stage. |
