Luis Figo - For Football

With the elections for FIFA President quickly approaching, Luis Figo released his manifesto entitled, 'For Football' in order to win over some last gasp votes. Pit against the current President, Sepp Blatter, as well as a Jordanian Prince, Figo's manifesto could win over potential voters, with his unique ideas.

When I first opened his manifesto, I noticed the title #ForFootball. Seeing that hashtag made me die a little inside. Now I'm no politician or political enthusiast, but I'm pretty sure hashtags aren't supposed to be contained inside serious document, (some of those who have read it may think that it is anything but serious.) Yes it gets people involved on social media and I admire his effort for doing this, but there's a time and a place Luis, a time and a place.

With that minor hiccup out of the way, his presentation is eye catching, slick and easy to use. There is an emotive sound bite to the right of a big serious bust of the man himself with a look of "I'm going to hunt you down if you don't vote for me" on his face. We get a detailed version of an impressive CV and also tells us his marital status. What this has got to do with running for President, I have no idea. In short, it's a nice looking PDF file, that doesn't beat about the bush and gets straight to the point. I like it.

#1. Change and Development.

Figo's main priority is to develop football throughout the world by increasing participation of all ages and genders in grassroots football. Aiming for at least a 10% growth in 4 years is ambitious, and if the model of the current FIFA continues, I scream 'no hope' in his face. With football easily being the most popular sport in the world, I think he means getting more people playing at a higher level. So far so good. In addition to this he wants to improve the infrastructure of football by dishing out equipment across the globe. He believes that at least 50% of the solidarity funds given to the Member Associations should be used to dish out kit and equipment. Let's hope the FA take note.

#2. Change and Solidarity.

Figo outlines his objective of distributing 50% of FIFA's revenues, $2.5b, to the Member Associations over a period of 4 years. A part of this also details giving a larger some to nations with the most need, whether that goes on lifestyle or not, I'm not too sure. It seems a solid proposal as with the amount of money other nations could become more competitive and in turn making international competitions more exciting. This is all well and good, but will the Member Associations spend this money correctly, rather than squandering it away? I hope he will dish out instructions as to what the money should be spent on. The most shocking thing about the next point is that FIFA have $1.5b in reserves. As Figo correctly states, there is no need for a sum this large and he will spread it among several projects that he will be running. I don't think anyone can argue with this proposal.

#3. Change and the World Cup

This is perhaps where things start to go downhill, depending on your opinion. It seems like he wants to increase the number of teams to 40 with the addition of several extra days to accommodate this increase. I have no real problem with this, after all it'll give Northern Ireland and extra chance of qualifying. Others will say that the competition will 'lose it's gloss' and I can see where they are coming from. His second proposal includes two 24 team competitions played on 2 continents with a final knock-out stage taking place in one country. Looking at the positives, it will split the amount of money required to fund the competition in three ways while giving several countries the 'World Cup experience.' Negatively, I don't like the weighting against the European nations for the additional teams for obvious reasons, and I think it would ruin involvement for nations when the matches are split over a larger area. I'm all in favour of the first proposal, but not so keen on the second. 

#4. Change and the Laws of the Game

It's great to see that Luis Figo is all in favour of goal line technology as our game needs to move with the advancing times. He also wants to abolish 'triple punishments' as well as testing the 'sin bin' disciplinary policy and reverting to the old offside rule. On triple punishments, this is probably a good idea, as many games are over as a contest once a player ends up in the dressing rooms. However, will this not just lead to more penalties? I covered this in an article around this time last year when Wojciech Sczezcsny was sent off against Bayern Munich. I'd like to see the sin bin option given a trial run as it would certainly cut down on the amount of cards dished out during the game. However the rule book will also have to be changed as bookings will not be able to be used for every single minor offence. Also, the 'football purists' will see this as a copy of rugby and may not be appealed by this proposal. There is certainly potential in some of these ideas.

Those are my opinions on the majority of Figo's proposals noted in his manifesto. The full compliment can be found at http://forfootball.org/. The former Portuguese international certainly looks good on paper, but I'm sure most of these proposals are easier said than done. With the elections on May 29th, I somehow suspect that Blatter won't be in for a fifth term. As always I'd like to hear your opinions on the topic at hand, and whether Luis Figo would excel as FIFA President.

Double Trouble at the Nou Camp

The past year at FC Barcelona has been one to forget. To the naked eye, it would seem that Barcelona have just been unlucky on the pitch, narrowly losing out on the title to Atletico and also being tactically out muscled by them in Europe, not to mention losing to their fierce rivals in the Copa del Rey. Now there are murmurings of a swift exit of their talisman and four times winner of the coveted Ballon D'Or Award, Lionel Messi.

Now, rumour has it that Lionel Messi has been in an altercation with manager Luis Enrique, and that his days in the Catalan capital are numbered. This is not the first time he has been rumoured with an exit from the Nou Camp, with reports surfacing last November, but were quickly dismissed. I remember first hearing these rumours and laughing it off as more journalists trying to write something controversial, it is now looking increasingly like they were correct even though deep down, I'm not convinced that he will leave the club. These reports resurfaced after he was left out of Barcelona's 1-0 defeat against David Moyes' Real Sociedad, the same David Moyes that was made a mockery by Liverpool fans no more than seven months ago. 

What would it mean for Barcelona if they lost their Argentinian superstar?

There would be no doubt that the departure of Lionel Messi from Barca would shock the world, but for the rest of the squad, it could have bigger consequences. For many years, Lionel Messi has single handedly won Barcelona vital games through nothing but his own magic, without him, they would likely to be relying on Luis Suarez or Neymar, which another cloud of mystery shrouds the young Brazilian. (They're not lacking any talent up front by any means.) Even with Messi onboard at the minute, confidence is at an all-time low, so the effect of his departure could be catastrophic.

Looking at the Sociedad game, Barca lacked the cutting edge in the final third in the first half and this was largely down to none of their talismen being on the pitch, Once the big guns were loaded off the bench in the second half, they looked a lot brighter, but were still unable to breach Sociedad's impenetrable defence. A happy David Moyes capped a truly miserable night for Luis Enrique and co. A positive result and performance is imperative tonight in the match against Elche.

The antics of the board have brought nothing but doom and gloom upon Barcelona.

Leaving the exciting stuff to the side, upstairs has been nothing but doom and gloom in Barcelona. Just under a year ago former President Sandro Rosell resigned after Judge Pablo Ruz ordered the start of a hearing to investigate him for alleged desecration of funds during the signing of Brazil's Neymar. The club has been dragged through endless quarrels among the board and Josep Maria Bartomeu, Rosell's replacement, has announced that elections will take place at the end of the season in an attempt to revive the faltering board of one of the world's most prestigious clubs.

Club legend Andoni Zubizaretta was sacked earlier in the week and this has prompted the uproar at the club, not to mention the resignation of his understudy, former captain Carles Puyol. Zubizarreta was in the Barca team that won their first Champions League back in 1992 and had held the position of Director of Football since 2010. With Puyol leading Barcelona through their successful Guardiola era, both were held in high regard by the fans and now even more questions will be asked about the board.

The negative effects have also taken its toll on the youth team, Barcelona B as they lie just one point off the relegation zone in second division. With Barca's renowned youth team suffering, some believe that the team is being badly managed and even with the vast array of talented youngsters at their disposal, it could slowly cause damage higher up the pecking order. The mismanagement could deter future players from arriving at the door step of the fabled academy, however this is probably taking things to a major extreme.

Die a hero or live long enough to become a villain.

Not only has the Messi vendetta cast a shadow over the future of the player in the Catalan capital, Enrique could be treading on thin ice. Barca fans expected great things from their former player who once graced the turf at the Nou Camp when he was in the good books of the Barca faithful. Now, even though they are lying in second position, performances of late haven't been up to scratch and the pressure is building on the former Barca and Real Madrid player. With the elections coming up at the end of the season, the new President may not be as kind to Enrique as Bartomeu has been, that's if he hasn't been given the chop before that. If Messi leaves, Enrique could be the first one to follow him out.

Remember the days when the Barcelona set-up appeared untouchable? It is looking like several cracks are appearing in the walls at the Nou Camp. The club was once a model for others now it appears to have got into the wrong hands and is on a downward plummet. The days of Guardiola are long gone and with the current situation it could be a while before those heights are returned. However, with the elections occurring at the end of the season, it brings hope for fans that the current predicament can be eradicated and things can get back on track.