FIFA reforms’ll reduce corruption, says football lovers

February 27, 2016

A cross-section of football enthusiasts in Abuja says the new reforms introduced by the International Federation of Football Associations will reduce corruption in its administration.

The football enthusiasts told the News Agency of Nigeria on Saturday that FIFA deserves praise for the reforms, and urged the football body to follow the reforms to the letter.

NAN reports that the new reforms approved at Friday’s extraordinary congress of the body in Zurich, Switzerland include the disclosure of salaries on an annual basis for the FIFA President.

The same will also apply to all FIFA council members, the Secretary-General and relevant chairpersons of independent standing and judicial committees.

Also, the FIFA president’s tenure has now been limited to three terms of four years.

This will also apply to FIFA council members and members of the audit and compliance committee and the judicial bodies.

The reforms also include a minimum of one female representative to be elected as a council member per confederation in order to promote women in football.

One of the enthusiasts, Mansur Abdullahi, who is a former assistant coach at Plateau United FC of Jos, acknowledged that the reforms are a welcome development.

“If FIFA has approved reforms, then it is a good thing, because when holding a public office such as this, what you take home should be known.

“But why is it only the salaries? Why not the allowances as well? I just hope that this will reduce the corruption in FIFA,” he said.

Another football enthusiast, Alex Mana, who is of the National Institute for Sports in Lagos said the reforms are a good development.

He said the reforms are important to the game at this point in time, especially with the new place given women in the running of affairs.

Saudi Arabia is reeling from falling oil prices. And it could get much worse.

Skyscrapers and residential property sits on the city skyline seen through the window of a skyscraper under construction in Riyadh. Saudi Arabian stocks led Gulf Arab markets lower after oil extended its slump from the lowest close since 2004. (Waseem Obaidi/Bloomberg)
By Hugh Naylor February 25 at 7:36 PM
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Stung by falling oil prices, Saudi Arabia has cut spending and subsidies as part of harsh austerity measures that threaten the lavish welfare programs underpinning its stability.

The oil-exporting giant’s economy has gone from producing windfalls to deficits, and Saudi rulers increasingly struggle to provide the cushy government jobs, expensive state handouts and tax-free living that have long bought them domestic obedience.

The pivot to austerity — which also has been imposed by neighboring Gulf Arab oil monarchies — risks triggering unrest in a Saudi society that is conservative and particularly resistant to change, analysts and diplomats warn.

The cutbacks are seen as necessary by King Salman’s son, defense minister and head of economic planning, Mohammed bin Salman. The 30-year-old prince has raised eyebrows for overseeing leadership shake-ups at home and two wars abroad. Advisers say he also intends to wean the country off its overwhelming dependence on oil sales and reform a bloated and opaque public sector.


 Light trails from traffic illuminate highways surrounded by residential buildings in Riyadh. Oil prices have plunged by about 70 percent over the last year and a half. (Waseem Obaidi/Bloomberg)
“He understands that now is the moment to capitalize on low oil prices by cutting wasteful subsidies and reforming our economy to make us stronger,” said Fahad Bin Jumah, a Saudi economist and member of the country’s Consultative Assembly who has advised Prince Mohammed.

Oil prices have plunged by about 70 percent over the last year and a half, even falling below $30 a barrel this month, battering the world’s second-largest producer and jarring a society that has grown accustomed to easy money and extravagant consumerism. Oil revenue accounts for an estimated 90 percent of the Saudi government’s income, leading to last year’s large budget deficit of $98 billion, or about 15 percent of gross domestic product.

Saudi Arabia, a U.S. ally and absolute monarchy, has for decades managed to ride out manic oil-price fluctuations, amassing astonishing revenue that has financed a healthy cushion of backup foreign-currency reserves worth hundreds of billions of dollars.

But in October, the International Monetary Fund warned that the government, which projects a deficit of $87 billion for 2016, could run out of money within five years if it did not tighten spending.

In response, Prince Mohammed pushed a raft of cost-cutting measures late last year that included a partial lifting of costly subsidies on gasoline, electricity and water. Authorities have reined in public spending, imposed hiring freezes and halted work on infrastructure and real estate projects. Officials talk about privatizing industry, including the prized national oil company.

The prince even discussed imposing taxes, a sensitive subject for Saudis, during an interview published last month by the Economist. “We’re talking about taxes or fees t