Post by QPR Report on May 22, 2009 6:06:52 GMT
The Guardian/Jamie Jackson
Warner warns England 2018 bid to correct BNP 'error'• BNP councillor was invited to 2018 World Cup bid launch
• Fifa vice-president advises bid must reflect cultural diversity
Jack Warner, the Fifa vice-president and key power-broker, said that inviting a British National Party councillor to England's 2018 World Cup launch at Wembley while having only white and male speakers addressing the audience was an "error" that needed correcting quickly.
Warner, who as head of Concacaf controls three of the 24 votes cast by the Fifa executive committee that will decide who hosts the 2018 tournament, said: "It's unfortunate that they did not consider minorities and had the BNP there – they made an error."
Warner, who was speaking from Nigeria, felt that England needed to take steps to reflect the country's cultural diversity. If it did not then "that would be a mistake because it's something that people can easily exploit – I don't think they would want a situation where anybody could be offended. I'm quite sure the FA will recognise an error when one is made and they will correct it. I hope they will do it quickly. And therefore it may be what I would call a blip in the campaign".
Warner also warned England 2018 against any complacency. "Don't rely on anything and believe they have an automatic right to be voted [for]. But they have to look at the 24 members who vote, and they have to make sure fully, and I mean fully, that they [understand] the whole history of the English football, what it means to England and why England should be considered the premier candidate. They have to impress that this is England's time. This is an evolving situation that is changing daily and monthly and they have to keep abreast of these things."
Asked what he thought England's chances of hosting the tournament were, Warner again offered a warning. "It is one of the countries best poised to do it because they have the facilities, they have the best professional league at the moment, nobody can fault their communications or the hotels.
"What they have to do is find the means to build on their pluses, the positives. And, they have to reduce whatever negatives – whether real or imagined."
Warner had yet to decide how he might vote when the committee decides in December 2010. "It's much too early for me to make my mind up on that – in fact, England has not really made a case to me as yet. I may have my sympathies, yes, but I haven't made my mind up."
www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/may/22/2018-world-cup-launch-wembley-bnp
The Guardian/Owen Gibson - FA to press for fit-and-proper persons test for those running clubs• FA board meets to consider Andy Burnham's seven questions
• Lord Triesman's more radical ideas may be watered down
The FA will next week deliver its long-awaited response to the government's questions on the future of football, but it is understood that the chairman Lord Triesman's more radical proposals have been watered down in an effort to maintain a boardroom consensus.
The FA board met to finalise its response to the culture secretary Andy Burnham's seven questions, first posed last October, around issues such as debt levels in English football, whether more could be done to encourage homegrown players and issues around "competitive balance".
But with three representatives from the Premier League, including its chairman Sir Dave Richards and Manchester United's chief executive David Gill, and two from the Football League on the 11-man board, it is understood the FA response will broadly focus on those areas where there is a consensus between their submissions.
As such, it is likely to add its voice to proposals for a new fit-and-proper- persons test, welcome moves on homegrown players and support improved financial controls. Although it was not included on the agenda, which is drawn up weeks in advance, it is understood that the board also discussed proposals to make the FA a more diverse and representative organisation.
As revealed by the Guardian, an embarrassing error that resulted in a BNP councillor being invited to this week's World Cup 2018 bid launch sparked a crisis meeting with organisations including the Kick It Out anti-racism campaign and the Professional Footballers' Association, at which Lord Triesman advanced a number of proposals to make the FA a more representative body.
Shortly after taking the job, the chairman caused a rift with the Premier League when he hit out at the levels of "toxic debt" among top-flight clubs in an incendiary speech at Stamford Bridge in which he also called for the fit-and-proper-persons test to be strengthened. "Transparency lies in an unmarked grave," he said.
www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/may/22/fa-future-of-football
Warner warns England 2018 bid to correct BNP 'error'• BNP councillor was invited to 2018 World Cup bid launch
• Fifa vice-president advises bid must reflect cultural diversity
Jack Warner, the Fifa vice-president and key power-broker, said that inviting a British National Party councillor to England's 2018 World Cup launch at Wembley while having only white and male speakers addressing the audience was an "error" that needed correcting quickly.
Warner, who as head of Concacaf controls three of the 24 votes cast by the Fifa executive committee that will decide who hosts the 2018 tournament, said: "It's unfortunate that they did not consider minorities and had the BNP there – they made an error."
Warner, who was speaking from Nigeria, felt that England needed to take steps to reflect the country's cultural diversity. If it did not then "that would be a mistake because it's something that people can easily exploit – I don't think they would want a situation where anybody could be offended. I'm quite sure the FA will recognise an error when one is made and they will correct it. I hope they will do it quickly. And therefore it may be what I would call a blip in the campaign".
Warner also warned England 2018 against any complacency. "Don't rely on anything and believe they have an automatic right to be voted [for]. But they have to look at the 24 members who vote, and they have to make sure fully, and I mean fully, that they [understand] the whole history of the English football, what it means to England and why England should be considered the premier candidate. They have to impress that this is England's time. This is an evolving situation that is changing daily and monthly and they have to keep abreast of these things."
Asked what he thought England's chances of hosting the tournament were, Warner again offered a warning. "It is one of the countries best poised to do it because they have the facilities, they have the best professional league at the moment, nobody can fault their communications or the hotels.
"What they have to do is find the means to build on their pluses, the positives. And, they have to reduce whatever negatives – whether real or imagined."
Warner had yet to decide how he might vote when the committee decides in December 2010. "It's much too early for me to make my mind up on that – in fact, England has not really made a case to me as yet. I may have my sympathies, yes, but I haven't made my mind up."
www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/may/22/2018-world-cup-launch-wembley-bnp
The Guardian/Owen Gibson - FA to press for fit-and-proper persons test for those running clubs• FA board meets to consider Andy Burnham's seven questions
• Lord Triesman's more radical ideas may be watered down
The FA will next week deliver its long-awaited response to the government's questions on the future of football, but it is understood that the chairman Lord Triesman's more radical proposals have been watered down in an effort to maintain a boardroom consensus.
The FA board met to finalise its response to the culture secretary Andy Burnham's seven questions, first posed last October, around issues such as debt levels in English football, whether more could be done to encourage homegrown players and issues around "competitive balance".
But with three representatives from the Premier League, including its chairman Sir Dave Richards and Manchester United's chief executive David Gill, and two from the Football League on the 11-man board, it is understood the FA response will broadly focus on those areas where there is a consensus between their submissions.
As such, it is likely to add its voice to proposals for a new fit-and-proper- persons test, welcome moves on homegrown players and support improved financial controls. Although it was not included on the agenda, which is drawn up weeks in advance, it is understood that the board also discussed proposals to make the FA a more diverse and representative organisation.
As revealed by the Guardian, an embarrassing error that resulted in a BNP councillor being invited to this week's World Cup 2018 bid launch sparked a crisis meeting with organisations including the Kick It Out anti-racism campaign and the Professional Footballers' Association, at which Lord Triesman advanced a number of proposals to make the FA a more representative body.
Shortly after taking the job, the chairman caused a rift with the Premier League when he hit out at the levels of "toxic debt" among top-flight clubs in an incendiary speech at Stamford Bridge in which he also called for the fit-and-proper-persons test to be strengthened. "Transparency lies in an unmarked grave," he said.
www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/may/22/fa-future-of-football
