A European-led
boycott of FIFA or the World Cup is "unrealistic in the foreseeable
future and, even if a breakaway were to eventually take place," experts
say it could leave FIFA "hopelessly splintered," according to Brian Homewood of REUTERS. With FIFA "seemingly oblivious to criticism" and President Sepp Blatter the "favourite
to be elected for a fifth term in May, there have been calls for
co-ordinated action to force change." Two
former English FA chairs, David Bernstein and David Triesman, have
called for European teams to "boycott the 2018 World Cup," while German
Football League (DFL) President Reinhard Rauball pondered the idea of UEFA's
member associations "pulling away from FIFA." Coventry University sports business professor Simon Chadwick said, "In the short to medium-term this is a completely unrealistic option, and statements coming out of the likes of England and Germany are simply shots across the bows of FIFA. Longer term, it is a possibility ... but it's a big call for the dissenting nations as it would create a multitude of political and organizational problems for domestic and continental associations." Kevin Carpenter, a sports lawyer specializing in "governance and integrity," said a boycott was "unlikely to gather much support outside Europe, and that there was little appetite for change in much of the globe." Carpenter: "It is only a small handful of European nations plus Australia and maybe the United States who feel aggrieved. The rest of the world finds the system works for them." FIFA presidential candidate Jerome Champagne, "who himself has proposed sweeping changes to the way FIFA is run, said a boycott was the wrong approach." Champagne: "It's not possible to boycott FIFA, the players want to play the World Cup, public opinion wants to play the World Cup" (REUTERS, 12/4).
