FIFA looks to turn a fresh leaf under Infantino

FIFA PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION 2016	Round 1	Round 2
(Q) Gianni Infantino (SUI/ITA)	88	115
Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa (BHR)	85	88
Prince Ali bin al-Hussein (JOR)	27	4
Jérôme Champagne (FRA)	7	-
Tokyo Sexwale (RSA)	w/d	-
TOTAL VOTES	207	207

GIANNI INFANTINO became the most powerful man in world football yesterday after winning the race to elect a new FIFA President in the second round in Zurich.

A Swiss-Italian lawyer by trade, Mr Infantino took a narrow lead over his main rival Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa of Bahrain in the first round.

And the former UEFA general secretary then hoovered up votes which had originally gone to Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan for a decisive victory.

In the grand scheme of things, Mr Infantino's rise to the top of FIFA actually comes as quite a surprise.

He was only backed by his own confederation UEFA after previous candidate Michel Platini was suspended by the FIFA Ethics Committee from all football-related activity in December alongside Sepp Blatter. Blatter, of course, had only just won a fifth successive term as president last May - before resigning four days later following the FBI-backed dawn arrests of several FIFA officials by the Swiss authorities. At first, Blatter avoided being caught in the net himself - but he was then found guilty of making a £1.3m "disloyal payment" to Platini who was also implicated in the deal. In a bizarre twist of fate, Mr Infantino's hometown of Brig is less than six miles away from Visp, from where Blatter hails. But, having been elected on his own merits, it feels only fair to judge him on his own words and actions. On his election, Mr Infantino said: "I want to work with all of you together in order to restore and rebuild a new era of FIFA where we can again put football at the centre of the stage. "FIFA has gone through sad times, moments of crisis, but those times are over. We need to implement the reform and implement good governance and transparency. We also need to have respect. "We're going to win back this respect through hard work, commitment and we're going to make sure we can finally focus on this wonderful game." Seemingly reasonable words from a seemingly reasonable guy - and Mr Infantino, in fairness, was always a far less divisive candidate than his closest rival, Sheikh Salman, who faced a slew of questions over human rights abuses in his own country. The 45-year-old will also surely be helped by several key reforms which were approved in this Extraordinary Congress including a limit to three terms in office for a president. A new council will replace the current executive committee, featuring a female representative from each confederation, and there will be greater transparency about the salaries of FIFA members. But the proof, eventually, will be in the pudding. Indeed, the reputation of FIFA is deservedly so low that it is only natural this latest turn of events has naturally attracted a cynical perspective from some writers. Paul Hayward, in his column for the Telegraph, even argues that welcoming Mr Infantino into the top job "requires ignorance, forgetfulness and hypocrisy". However, a more balanced assessment is made by David Conn in the Guardian. Even then, though, Conn's support for Mr Infantino stems from the fact that he was the best of a poor slate of candidates and that he managed to beat Sheikh Salman. Ultimately, it will be the big calls on which Mr Infantino will be judged. At this late stage, with qualifiers in some confederations having already begun, the 2018 World Cup is unlikely to be moved away from Russia. Mr Infantino must simply therefore hope that the event passes without a major racist or homophobic incident - or too much political interference from Vladimir Putin. However, big questions remain over Qatar 2022 - and then, despite the structural reforms, there are major doubts whether the toxic atmosphere of bribery and secrecy can really be stamped out. Action speaks louder than words, Mr Infantino - and now is the time for action.

The EU: Should we stay or should we go?

THE FUTURE of Britain's 43-year membership of the European Union will be decided in a referendum on Thursday 23 June following an announcement last weekend by Prime Minister David Cameron.

Voters will be asked: Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?

Or, as The Clash almost wrote in 1981, albeit not about the EU, should we stay or should we go?

It will, undoubtedly, be a big, generation-defining decision which will hopefully settle an argument that has continued to rage in British politics ever since the 1970s.

Back in 1975, Harold Wilson's Labour government held the last referendum on the issue, the result of which strongly backed the decision of Mr Wilson's predecessor Ted Heath to enter what was then known as the Common Market in 1973.

Even then, Mr Wilson made an admission in a letter to the public. He wrote: "We do not pretend, and never have pretended, that we got everything we wanted".

And, since the return to power of the Conservatives in 2010, the issue has headed to the forefront of the political scenery once again.

Moreover, truthfully, it has never much looked like going away either. In 2014, Nigel Farage's insurgent UKIP won the most votes and seats in the European elections.

Meanwhile, under pressure from Conservative eurosceptic backbenchers, Mr Cameron had already guaranteed, in January 2013, a national vote on the EU if his Tory party won a majority.

At the time, that looked fanciful. After all, Mr Cameron had failed to secure a majority in 2010 in an election against Gordon Brown after 13 years of New Labour.

In 2015, however, a perfect storm for the Conservatives developed as Labour collapsed in Scotland to the Nationalists while the Tories themselves gained a whole swathe of seats in the south west from the Liberal Democrats.

Just like in the 1992 general election, the pollsters had got it wrong - and, just like in 1992, the United Kingdom had a Conservative majority government.

So, now it has been established how exactly we have got to this stage, the big question for the pollsters is if they will do any better for this vote?

Frankly, the early signs are that the polls will not necessarily be a good guide to the actual outcome - some surveys have a lead for Remain while others put Leave ahead.

Perhaps an explanation for this muddled picture is the lack of clear information to hand. Certainly, the media coverage so far has not exactly helped.

Indeed, the biggest story which has emerged to date has been that London mayor Boris Johnson will campaign for "Brexit".

It is a decision inconsistent with some of his previous statements but one which would seem best to suit his naked ambition to be the next Conservative leader and PM.

Ultimately, it was the Guardian which summed up the whole charade pretty well, dismissing the importance of Mr Johnson's move and reminding us that we will all have a vote to use on 23 June.

So, where do my thoughts currently lie then? Instinctively, in an ever more globalised world, my view is that the UK should stay in the European Union.

The bloc is the country's biggest trading partner - and it is also an organisation which has done wonders for workers' rights and other everyday stuff from the price of flights to the price of mobile phone data charges.

At the same time, I understand some of the concerns and complaints of the Leave campaigners - that the EU is just too shadowy an organisation with unclear decision-making processes.

In an ideal world then, the next few months would see a firm analysis of a variety of issues surrounding the EU.

But, with much of the media being sidetracked into irrelevance or having made up its mind, there already seems little chance of that.

Of course, the consolation to be taken from this is that the result on 23 June will likely be based on the majority of the nation's gut feeling.

And, at least, that way there should be no complaints about the outcome. The British people will have spoken.

US election 2016: Year of the outsiders

OUTSIDERS Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders continued their shake-up of American politics after both gained big victories in their respective New Hampshire primary elections.

In the Republican race, Mr Trump took 35.7% of the vote to finish well ahead of his rivals Ohio governor John Kasich (15.8%), Texas senator Ted Cruz (11.7%), and former Florida governor Jeb Bush (11.0%).

Current Florida senator Marco Rubio, of whom so much had been previously expected, performed terribly and his eventual fifth place on 10.6% has indeed left the continuation of his campaign in doubt.

It had all looked so different after the season-opening Iowa caucuses a week ago. There, Mr Rubio had finished third - and, although he did not win, his 23% had put him just one percent behind Mr Trump and just over four points behind winner Mr Cruz.

In other words, Mr Rubio was well in the race. Under the slightest of scrutiny, however, he has totally crumbled.

Perhaps the most seminal moment of the whole campaign so far came in a debate on Saturday in which the fresh-faced Mr Rubio was challenged by another candidate Chris Christie.

Rather than defend himself, though, Mr Rubio instead attacked incumbent President Barack Obama - and then, bizarrely went onto repeat the same line, almost verbatim, twice more in quick succession.

This robotic response was seized upon by Mr Christie as further evidence that Mr Rubio, as a first-term senator, was not yet for the ready for the responsibility that comes with occupying the White House.

And that perception now looks very difficult for him to shake off.

Instead, the focus has now turned back to Mr Trump, a loose cannon - to say the least - having infamously earlier declared he would ban all Muslims from entering the United States.

Rather then, the focus in the Republican camp is on finding a candidate who can reliably stand up to Mr Trump's relentless anti-establishment message.

Could that perhaps be Jeb Bush, son of the 41st President George HW Bush and brother of the 43rd President George W Bush?

Frankly, that seems unlikely. Mr Bush has out-spent all of his contenders by a huge margin - and yet still only came fourth in New Hampshire having been absolutely nowhere in Iowa.

Certainly, it can be said that there is no great clamour for another chapter to be added to the Bush dynasty.

Of course, the same could partly be said about the Clinton dynasty. Hillary Clinton, wife of 42nd President Bill, is standing for the top job for a second time, having been beaten by Mr Obama in 2008.

In New Hampshire, however, she suffered one hell of a bloody nose as Vermont senator Mr Sanders scored a huge win in the Democrat primary.

Self-styled - and self-funded - socialist candidate Mr Sanders took 60.9% of the vote to dwarf Mrs Clinton's 37.9% in what, unlike the Republican contest, is a simple two-horse race.

In fairness, Mrs Clinton herself has admitted she is not connecting with some voters, particularly the young - but the problem for her is that the problem, for many, is herself.

That is actually not an altogether unfair verdict from the electorate when taking into consideration a few key issues.

For a start, Mrs Clinton supported the Defense of Marriage Act and yet now pretends to be an ally of the gay community. Additionally, she voted in favour of the Patriot Act and the Iraq War, both of which were opposed by Mr Sanders.

At the same time, though, Mr Sanders must concede that New Hampshire - well-known for its independent streak - cannot be viewed as typical of the USA as a whole.

Neighbouring his home patch in Vermont, it is also possibly the state with the most favourable demographics for him of all 50 of the states.

So, basically, it could be said that, if Mr Sanders had failed to win in New Hampshire, Mrs Clinton would already have this contest in the bag.

Instead, her 74-year-old opponent most likely now has enough momentum to make it at least to Super Tuesday on 1 March when 11 primary and caucus elections will be held on the Democrat side. On the same day, meanwhile, 14 different states will select their Republican candidate.

By the start of next month then, the race to the White House should start to become a little clearer.

But, for now - in this strangest of electoral cycles - we are largely none the wiser.

US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION 2016

Primaries and Caucuses

IOWA	01-Feb	DEMOCRAT Clinton 49.8%, Sanders 49.6% REPUBLICAN Cruz 27.6%, Trump 24.3%, Rubio 23.1%
NEW HAMPSHIRE	09-Feb	DEMOCRAT Sanders 60.9%, Clinton 37.9% REPUBLICAN Trump 35.7%, Kasich 15.8%, Cruz 11.7%

Next: Nevada caucus for Democrats (20 Feb), South Carolina primary for Republicans (20 Feb), Nevada caucus for Republicans (23 Feb), South Carolina primary for Democrats (27 Feb), Super Tuesday (1 Mar)
 

NY TIMES DELEGATE COUNT

Source

Does not include super-delegates

Democrat (2382 to win)
36 Bernie Sanders
32 Hillary Clinton

Republican (1237 to win)
17 Donald Trump
11 Ted Cruz
10 Marco Rubio
5 John Kasich
4 Jeb Bush
3 Ben Carson

Six Nations shared between BBC and ITV

SIX NATIONS 2016

MATCHDAY 1
Sat 06-Feb	14:25 BBC	FRANCE v ITALY	Stade de France
Sat 06-Feb	16:50 BBC	SCOTLAND v ENGLAND	Murrayfield
Sun 07-Feb	15:00 ITV	IRELAND v WALES	Aviva Stadium

MATCHDAY 2
Sat 13-Feb	14:25 BBC	FRANCE v IRELAND	Stade de France
Sat 13-Feb	16:50 BBC	WALES v SCOTLAND	Millennium Stadium
Sun 14-Feb	14:00 ITV	ITALY v ENGLAND	Stadio Olimpico

MATCHDAY 3
Fri 26-Feb	20:05 BBC	WALES v FRANCE	Millennium Stadium
Sat 27-Feb	14:25 ITV	ITALY v SCOTLAND	Stadio Olimpico
Sat 27-Feb	16:50 ITV	ENGLAND v IRELAND	Twickenham

MATCHDAY 4
Sat 12-Mar	13:30 ITV	IRELAND v ITALY	Aviva Stadium
Sat 12-Mar	16:00 ITV	ENGLAND v WALES	Twickenham
Sun 13-Mar	15:00 BBC	SCOTLAND v FRANCE	Murrayfield

MATCHDAY 5
Sat 19-Mar	14:30 BBC	WALES v ITALY	Millennium Stadium
Sat 19-Mar	17:00 ITV	IRELAND v SCOTLAND	Aviva Stadium
Sat 19-Mar	20:00 BBC	FRANCE v ENGLAND	Stade de France

BOTH BBC and ITV will broadcast this year's Six Nations Championship in a £300m deal which runs until 2021.

The BBC - which has had exclusive rights since 2003 - brokered the arrangement as part of a cost-saving exercise in which its sport department has been asked to cut £35m from its budget.

At least this way all of the tournament remains on free-to-air television. The BBC will show the home matches of Scotland, Wales and France - while ITV takes charge of England, Ireland and Italy home games.

The way that the fixtures are laid out actually works out well for the BBC this year. It will show two matches on the opening day - including Scotland v England - and two of the three matches on the final matchday, including France v England.

As usual, much of the attention in the build-up has been on England - but perhaps, this year, that is even more so the case.

For, England have a new head coach - the Australian Eddie Jones - as they seek to repair their tattered reputation after a disastrous home World Cup.

Jones, of course, had a totally different World Cup experience with Japan. The Cherry Blossoms caused one of the biggest sporting shocks of all time by beating the two-time winners South Africa in the Pool stages, and England have appointed their new man expecting similar inspiration.

Nevertheless, there has been caution aired ahead of the Calcutta Cup clash with Scotland on the first day - with Jones even declaring the resurgent Scots to be favourites, given their home advantage.

That is still not something with which the bookmakers agree - and it is true that Scotland must turn the tide of recent history to be successful this spring.

Scotland have never won the Six Nations title - they have, though, collected four wooden spoons since Italy were introduced in 2000, and finished bottom last year.

But, after that, they recovered gamely, recording a series of comeback wins in the Pool stages of the World Cup before a heartbreaking and controversial defeat to Australia in the quarter finals.

Indeed, the first Six Nations after a World Cup is often seen in the context of the latter - and this year will be no different.

For Wales, this is good news. Also subject to a heartbreaking late defeat to a southern hemisphere superpower - in their case South Africa - the Welsh nonetheless produced some stirring displays and memorably beat England at Twickenham.

They can be proud of their World Cup efforts - and, certainly, the re-match against England on 12 March, again at Twickenham, should hold no fears.

Meanwhile, Ireland - who have won the last two Six Nations titles, and often in some style - are in a state of flux following their wholly unexpected defeat to Argentina in the World Cup quarters.

Former captain Paul O'Connell has joined the totemic Brian O'Driscoll in retirement and this leaves a lot of pressure on fly-half Jonny Sexton as the clearest link back to one of Ireland's greatest teams.

Indeed, the first match for the Irish - against a more settled Wales team in Dublin - promises to be the most enthralling fixture of this first weekend, even accounting for the Calcutta Cup contest.

Six Nations campaigns cannot be decided in one game - but that tête-à-tête in Dublin may nevertheless go a long way to determining the fate of those two teams this year.

For now, surprisingly, England have been classified as favourites with the money men - despite their awful World Cup and despite the fact that they have finished runners-up for the last four years.

And, while it is a new era for English rugby, it would be no surprise if they extended that record to a fifth year in finishing behind the Welsh.

Scotland will improve but Ireland will still sneak third place ahead of them by winning the match between the two teams in Dublin on the final day.

Finally, the two continentals - France and Italy - will just be there to make up the numbers, a damning indictment on the French, whose World Cup campaign was ultimately little better than that of England.

It would be no surprise, of course, if these predictions are completely wrong - but the fun part is watching and seeing what happens - on two television channels this year.

TEAM-BY-TEAM GUIDE Odds from Ladbrokes

ENGLAND Odds 13/8 fav	Coach Eddie Jones Captain Dylan Hartley
Twickenham	Fixtures Scotland (A), Italy (A), Ireland (H), Wales (H), France (A)
IRB Rank: 8	Six Nations titles 4 (2000, 2001, 2003, 2011)
FRANCE Odds 6/1	Coach Guy Novès Captain Guilhem Guirado
Stade de France	Fixtures Italy (H), Ireland (H), Wales (A), Scotland (A), England (H)
IRB Rank: 7	Six Nations titles 5 (2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2010)
IRELAND Odds 9/2	Coach Joe Schmidt Captain Rory Best
Aviva Stadium	Fixtures Wales (H), France (A), England (A), Italy (H), Scotland (H)
IRB Rank: 6	Six Nations titles 3 (2009, 2014, 2015)
ITALY Odds 500/1	Coach Jacques Brunel Captain Sergio Parisse
Stadio Olimpico	Fixtures France (A), England (H), Scotland (H), Ireland (A), Wales (A)
IRB Rank: 12	Six Nations titles None
SCOTLAND Odds 14/1	Coach Vern Cotter Captain Greig Laidlaw
Murrayfield	Fixtures England (H), Wales (A), Italy (A), France (H), Ireland (A)
IRB Rank: 9	Six Nations titles None
WALES Odds 9/4	Coach Warren Gatland Captain Sam Warburton
Millennium Stadium	Fixtures Ireland (A), Scotland (H), France (H), England (A), Italy (H)
IRB Rank: 4	Six Nations titles 4 (2005, 2008, 2012, 2013)

RBS SIX NATIONS 2015 TABLE

	W	D	L	F	A	(T)	Pts
IRELAND	4	0	1	119	56	8	8
ENGLAND	4	0	1	157	100	18	8
WALES	4	0	1	146	93	13	8
FRANCE	2	0	3	103	101	9	4
ITALY	1	0	4	62	182	8	2
SCOTLAND	0	0	5	73	128	6	0