What to do ? Few football leaders have as their favorite writer Lenin (author, in 1901, of the book with the same interrogative title); however, with the ball stopped and the boxes empty, they too are tormented by burning questions. We even hear a rumor almost bolshevik here and there, without it being able to claim the majority, of course. Sport king is not broken in introspection; everything was going so smoothly until then.
But in Zurich – where Lenin preceded it – the International Football Federation (FIFA) is no longer sure of anything. "Our world as our sport will be different after the return to normal", says Gianni Infantino, its president, in an astonishing oxymoron. Prayer, he adds, of "Contribute positively and put global interest above individual interests". Some have had to pinch themselves: until the crisis, the Swiss was pushing, at all costs, a project for a club world championship which further overloaded the calendar and disturbed an already fragile balance of power.
FIFA's war chest
Concretely, FIFA is currently focusing on saving the pyramid thanks to the war chest built up over the years by its former president Sepp Blatter – almost 2.5 billion euros in reserves in 2019.
The payment of funds will be anticipated; the fundamental reforms will wait, says a member of the council of the international federation: "We had no discussion regarding the future or the lines of thought on a possible change of model. " A close friend of the institution, skeptical, bid: "The current crisis only highlights the emptiness and the uselessness of the FIFA machine. Beyond the distribution of funds, it is "blablaland". "
"President Ceferin is open to all proposals: salary ceiling, more regulation … But we must first measure the impact of this crisis," says a UEFA official.
The reflection is more advanced on the side of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), whose president, Aleksander Ceferin, estimated, as of March 18, that " time (was) more selfishness "and that" world football (left) from zero ".
A senior UEFA official delivers this analysis: "The football industry was disproportionate to other economic activities. President Ceferin is open to all proposals: salary ceiling, more regulation … But we must not go too fast and first measure the impact of this crisis. If we do not finish the European Cups, this will have a significant impact in terms of redistribution for the clubs of the major championships. There is a European unity in this work of reflection, it is the positive aspect of this period. FIFA plays it solo for its own interests. "
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