12 October 2011
For all his many faults, Blatter has turned the Football World Cup from a European/South American competition into a truly global tournament. The English don't like him, but the developing world thinks he's great.
When you compare the IRB with FIFA, they seem worlds apart. FIFA has its faults, don’t get me wrong, and the recent bribery scandal hasn’t helped, but there is no getting away from the fact that it is democratic. Each member of FIFA has a single vote, which means that even Tonga gets a say in the way FIFA is run.
Tonga? Yes Tonga, that well-known footballing giant gets an equal vote in FIFA. Now when it comes to rugby, where Tonga
The current setup of the IRB overwhelmingly favours the ‘foundation unions’: England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, France, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, who between them control over 60% of the votes on the IRB Council. The IRB Chairman is elected by the most powerful nations and is, in effect, answerable only to them – not to the other 89 member states. The whole system is rotten to the core and doesn’t represent the true world of rugby in the 21st Century.
Don’t we want to see more nations competing at the Rugby World Cup and doing well? Wouldn’t we like to see a Two Tier Six Nations, with promotion and relegation – giving countries like Georgia
These changes would give those so-called rugby ‘minnows’ a chance to grow into fully-fledged rugby giants. New Zealand
Unfortunately, the way the IRB is currently structured and run, none of these changes are likely to happen. The whole IRB setup completely non-representative and I find it hard to understand why it’s allowed to continue. It’s a disgrace.
So, come on, will the Sepp Blatter of rugby please step forward and start the revolution.
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