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.

The Road to Rio

It is just 184 days until the start of the most prestigious trophy any footballer could have, the World Cup. With the draw made on Friday afternoon, I will take a look at each of the groups. 

Group A - Brazil, Croatia, Mexico, Cameroon

Having won 12 of their last 13 matches, and arguably favourites for the tournament, Brazil are expected to comfortably win Group A. Mexico have had a testing qualifying period with the use of 47 players and a staggering 4 managers. Although not to the same calibre, the Olympic final in 2012 will give the Mexicans confidence having shocked Brazil in London. Mario Mandzukic has 10 goals from 18 appearances for Bayern this season and will be looking to lead from the front for outsiders, Croatia, in a group where they can be quietly confident of finishing second. Cameroon have the ability to cause an upset, however I don't see them neutralising the fire power of Brazil.

Group B - Spain, Netherlands, Chile, Australia

This group sees a rematch of the last World Cup Final in which Netherlands look to seek revenge after a late Iniesta winner secured Spain their 1st World Cup title. On paper, Spain and Netherlands should qualify easily, but it depends what Dutch team shows up on the day, after all, their Euro 2012 campaign confirmed that to us all. Chile have only lost one game this year and last month's performance against England laid down a marker for the Spanish and Dutch. With Australia being the lowest ranked team at the tournament next year, nobody is giving the Aussies any hope, but the cliche still stands, matches aren't won on paper.

Group C - Colombia, Greece, Ivory Coast, Japan

Colombia will be expected to breeze through this group with a potent attack force including Radamel Falcao, Luis Muriel and Jackson Martinez. The battle for second place requires more contemplation. I feel that it is between the Ivory Coast and Japan. However, remember in 2004 when the Greeks shocked everyone by winning the Euros? I will no longer right off Greece after that year. A lot of expectation will be heaped on the Ivory Coast, the highest ranked African nation as they try to break the duck on the African teams, while Japan will be looking to string together a few results and hopefully have a decent run in the competition. 

Group D - Uruguay, Costa Rica, England, Italy

Group D, or Group of death as many English fans like to think it as. You heard the disappointment from a collective nation when England were drawn from the little ball. Whilst most people are pessimistic about the upcoming tournament, I wouldn't be very surprised if England progressed. The only thing that will cost England the match against Costa Rica is complacency in a match that they must pick up 3 points in. If they play to their optimum, it is very probable that they can nurture a result out of the match against an ageing yet very dangerous Uruguay side. Italy could prove a stumbling block. A decent all round unit could see them reach the semis or possibly even the final.

Group E - Switzerland, Ecuador, France, Honduras

A dream group for France, this is. Having needed a near miracle against Ukraine to scrape through the qualifying stages, this competitive group gives Les Bleus a very good chance at reaching the knockout rounds. Standing in their way is Ecuador who established a fortress at home by only dropping 2pts which sent them through. With the talent of Inler and Shaqiri in the Swiss squad, they will look to try and topple the French who will be licking their lips at a group like this.

Group F - Argentina, Bosnia, Iran, Nigeria

Lionel Messi will look to continue on his fine form for Argentina having scored 20 goals in his last 20 games. While Messi grabs the headlines, we often forget about the attacking prowess of the other forwards, Kun Aguero, Tevez and Di Maria to name a few. They entertain the African Cup of Nation victors, Nigeria, who desire to kick on from that memorable victory. Iran have never reached past the knockout round in 3 attempts, while Bosnia represent the only debutant in the World Cup next year.

Group G - Germany, Portugal, Ghana, USA

It must of been written in the stars for USA manager Jurgen Klinsmann to face his home nation whom he won the trophy with as a player and went on to manage. Portugal have the potential to be a dark horse in the tournament, particularly if they can keep their talisman and joint record goal scorer Cristiano Ronaldo fit. On the other hand, a replica of their performances against Northern Ireland could see them struggle to beat Ghana and particularly the USA. 

Group H - Belgium, Algeria, Russia, South Korea

A dream of a group if you are a Belgian. Group H was the creme de la creme, the ideal group for every manager. Belgium have a young dose of talent coming through including Christian Benteke, Romelu Lukaku, Eden Hazard plus others. This new intake of talent was been publicised in the media leading many World Cup neutrals to jump on the Belgian bandwagon. I certainly agree that they have the potential to achieve great things as a team, but I don't think they can live up to the hype. In second position for this group, behind Belgium, I would put my money on Russia. A tight unit with several very influential individuals can seal this team second position ahead of Algeria and South Korea.

After an exhilarating draw seeing relief and disappointment, I have no skepticism that this will be a roller coaster of a tournament. As only a South American team has lifted the Jules Rimet trophy when it is held in South America, the odds will be stacked in favour of the pattern continuing. But hey, traditions were made to be broken.