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New Leadership, Same Need for Accountability |
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Monday, 26 November 2007 |
LOS ANGELES - WHAT'S that smell? Could it be the fresh scent of new leadership in Philippine football? By golly, I think it is! Well, children, let’s savor it while we can. Like everything else in Philippine politics, and let’s face it, the PFF is very much about politics, we should temper our optimism on the certainty that regardless of who captains the ship, disappointment is never far behind.
Don’t get me wrong. Like anyone else, I would love to see all the trappings of a healthy national federation: high levels of participation in youth football; an extensive and regular national league in both men’s and women’s divisions; a development program that effectively channels exceptional talent from the grassroots to our national teams; national teams that consistently improve and participate in regional competition. Given the choice I’d rather see them sooner than later.
With the ascent of Jose Mari Martinez, a successful footballer from an era when national sides were even more competitive than today, there is the hope that the spirit that brought these success on the field will translate into success off the pitch. One question, as always, is how far will politics rear its ugly head in this new administration?
If the machinations leading to the election last week are any indication – back room deals and last minute maneuvering; suspicion of money changing hands in exchange for support and all the unsavory aspects of electioneering - it will not be long indeed. Despite cries of foul from protagonists and appeals to the Almighty regarding the conduct of the elections, it is hard to imagine that many are untouched by the stain of ruthlessness and hypocrisy.
Mr. Martinez has his work cut out for him. While his direct constituencies are the provincial football associations, the eyes of the entire footballing community will be upon him to effect genuine change quickly. Foremost on the agenda should be to repair the severely tarnished image of the PFF, a sorry legacy of the past administration’s preoccupation with issues of power and prestige at the expense of progress in footballing matters. Forthcoming awards by the grand padron of FIFA, Sepp Blatter, notwithstanding, football aficionados know exactly what Johnny Romualdez deserves.
There is plenty for the new leader to do and to fix. Personally, I would love to see another issue related to the image of football addressed immediately. In fact, this issue goes much farther than image. It involves the PFF’s very mission and its ability to carry it out. That, my friends, is transparency.
As much as some may wish it, the PFF is not an exclusive, private club. It is, in fact, an entity registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The monies that flow into its coffers as well as what flows out and within it must be duly accounted for. Moreover, it is a quasi-governmental agency that receives money from the Philippine government. For this year, that is over P12 million. Sources include the Philippine Olympic Committee and the Philippine Sports Commision.
This being a democracy, the taxpayers have a right to know how their money is being spent. Let me ask you, dear reader, do you know where the federation’s money is going?
As a stakeholder in the PFF, you, the average Juan dela Cruz with the football boots on, has a right to know where your pesos are going, no matter how little or how much.
“How much?” is an interesting question, especially when it comes to the major source of the PFF’s income – FIFA. FIFA delivered $20,000 through the Financial Assistance Program, a program that redistributes a portion of FIFA’s fabulous wealth to national associations.
The FIFA Goal program made available $400,000 to the PFF. The program’s expressed goals are:
- To promote the game of football together with its fundamental principles and social, educational and cultural values around the world;
- To seek parity in the standard and infrastructure of football in individual countries;
- To establish modern, functional and transparent football administrations;
- To promote the sustainable long-term development of the member associations and encourage solidarity between them.
This year, the PFF, under Johnny Romualdez, decided to use Goal funds to build a legacy for himself set in stone, so to speak - a three-story administrative building in Pasig. In a previous column, I referred to this as a monument to waste. In economics there is a term called “opportunity cost.” This refers to the price you pay by losing a chance to spend the money on something else. In terms of opportunity cost, the price for this ego boosting waste of cement is extremely high. Let’s not even get into how the PFF will find the funds to pay for its maintenance.
So, aside from the need for the people’s money to be accounted for, there is obviously, a need to account for FIFA’s money. This Centennial year, $420,000 came through the PFF’s treasury from Zurich. If FIFA chiefs decide to perform an audit of the PFF’s finances how would the national federation fare? Would it pass muster?
This writer had the opportunity to peruse the official 2007 budget. My attention was immediately drawn to some glaring problems relating to budgeted programs/tournaments that were never implemented. The peso amount of the obvious discrepancies alone would have been enough to send our men’s squad to the SEA Games. How will the PFF’s past and present administration explain that? How will similar questions be answered?
To his credit, Mr. Martinez guarantees transparency under his administration. Just how far and how extensive that effort will go is unknown. Only time will tell for sure. It’s up to the footballing community to hold Mr. Martinez’s feet to the fire. Paying more attention to what your own FA is doing is part and parcel of being a responsible stakeholder so let’s not forget them either. Ultimately, it is down to us to keep that nice new smell of change from turning into that foul smell of garbage to which we’ve all grown accustomed.
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