FIFA holds draw for 2010 World Cup preliminary matches

Paradise Island FIFA Congress: Satisfaction not guaranteed?

Good news from the Bahamas convention: The global economic downturn is not hurting soccer’s governing body. The International Football Federation (FIFA) said that it turned a $184 million profit in 2008, remaining 13 percent under its own budget and not losing any money on assets during the year. The soccer association collected $957 million in revenue, mostly off additional television and marketing deals struck for TV rights to the 2010 World Cup. The question whether the Bahamas has paid the duties to be allowed to broadcast the last World Cup on TV was still not answered.

The Bahamas – recently shamed and named on the tax haven list at the G20 summit in London and very well known for drug trafficking – receives from the FIFA for their few teams (beside $10m USD every four years for the Caribbean confederation) $1m for the same period. Both Anton Sealey, the President of the Bahamas Football Association and the Prime Minister of the Bahamas, Hubert Ingraham, took the chance to describe the country as a tourist destination.

Foreign observers of the FIFA convention criticized that tourists as soon as they enter the real Bahamas, they find out about the local criminals. Many taxi-drivers charged exorbitant fares with no reference to standard rates - and even hit small families with high fares of up to 130 USD from the airport to Atlantis.

It is also serious claimed that at the same day when both FIFA General Secretary Jerome Valcke and FIFA Executive Committee member Ricardo Texeira arrived in New Providence for the 59th FIFA Congress a tourist arriving from New York was tested a day later (26th of May) positive for the H1N1 virus, better known as swine flu.

It is surprising that the Ministry of Health has hidden the case of the potentially deadly virus for six days. Finally when all participants of the international convention have been arrived a short statement from Ministry of Health submitted by Bahamas Information Service reported that the tourist from New York was tested positive for the H1N1 virus (on May 29) and has since returned home. The statement even did not indicate which facility the visitor was staying.

Not only a few tourist disagree with the slogan “It is better in the Bahamas”. A official survey confirmed that every second visitor is disappointed and would not recommend the Bahamas for family members and friends. The main reasons are high prices, poor service and unfriendly natives. Whereas the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism assures that there is the right climate for the beach all the year round participants of the FIFA Congress experienced different feelings.

In other words: The summer is very hot, the feeling temperature raised already up to 40 C and there is also a high risk of hurricanes. Delegates had to bear a severe thunderstorm which lasted several hours and knocked out power to many areas of the island and caused serious flooding, making many roads impassable. Visitors were unable to pass on Bay Street, as the entire street was underwater.

I guess the FIFA president Joseph S. Blatter did not get any knowledge that a young Bahamian who was being detained at a Police Station, allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in the jail cell of the station? I understand that a juvenile can only be detained for 48 hours but this guy was held there already for the entire week? I guess the FIFA president did not get the knowledge that just last week, international human rights group, Amnesty International, blasted the Bahamas for extra-judicial killings by the rampantly corrupt Bahamas Police Force? I also guess the FIFA president did not get the knowledge that the country’s murder count was pushed on the day of the congress opening to 32 when a 33-year-old resident was fatally stabbed about the body. This micro state has one of the highest murder rate in the world but what I know is the following: Blatter reported at a press meeting after the 59th congress that “The Bahamas is small, but it’s paradise”.