By Andrew Warshaw
September 30 – Ramon Vega may be better known as a former international footballer and highly successful financial asset management guru than an influential voice on FIFA matters.
But it may have been forgotten that that for a brief period last year, the 45-year-old Swiss was seriously considering throwing his hat into the ring to replace Sepp Blatter.
That he failed to gain the required five nominees from among the FIFA membership surprised no-one yet despite cynics proclaiming “Ramon who?”, the larger-than-life, outspoken Vega, who won 23 caps for Switzerland, still believes he has friends in high places and that he is eminently qualified to discuss where Fifa has gone wrong and where it needs to go from here.
Insideworldfootball caught up with the former defender, who played for six clubs including Tottenham Hotspur and Celtic, during this week’s Soccerex convention in Manchester and found someone who has lost little of his zeal and passion on the subject of FIFA’s reform process and good governance.
Without naming names, Vega provided a revealing insight into FIFA’s reluctance to be shaken up at the time he was considering campaigning. “I only had 40 days to convince people, not several months,” said Vega. “Unfortunately I was just a bit too late coming to the table but a lot of people told me I ticked the boxes.
“The problem was that the system had remained unchanged for a long time, with people sitting comfortably in their seats without any distraction. They didn’t want a fresh face coming out the blue telling them what to do. Yet so many of those were pointing the finger at others were not prepared to come forward themselves.”
“Europe said they couldn’t give me any support because (Michel) Platini had not yet been suspended. I found that a little surprising given that he Platini was under investigation.”
While the bottom line perhaps is that Vega had no active experience in football politics or administration and thus failed to meet the strict eligibility criteria, he still believes he had a significant advantage over those who ended up as candidates.
“Having been in the financial industry for 15 years I have learned a lot about compliance, corporate institutions and financial regulation. I think that counts for something.”
Interestingly, Vega cannot see any significant progress so far under new FIFA president Gianni Infantino, his fellow Swiss. Indeed, quite the reverse.
“I don’t see any difference,” he said. “I don’t see any new stuff. In fact quite the opposite. We all thought it was a new beginning but within 60 days the guy was already in front of the ethics committee. Okay he was cleared of any wrongdoing but it was obviously a very sensitive decision. Whatever he did or didn’t do, are you telling me that sent out a good message? Excuse me.”
Vega’s financial acumen has earned him a formidable reputation in the City of London. So what does he think of Infantino’s promise to massively increase development funding? “It’s a promise and I don’t like promises. I like facts, reality. The position he had at UEFA, and the way he subsequently got the FIFA job, I’m not convinced so far.”
Vega insists his aborted FIFA presidential bid has only strengthened his resolve to help rebuild the organisation’s tarnished image. FIFA’s immediate priority, he says, is to restore its credibility among its commercial backers. “If there is no sponsorship coming in, you tell me how you are going to distribute all that money to the federations. Corporate reputation is hugely important.”
With his vast experience in both football and finance, and with no negative baggage, Vega is still keen to make a difference and is making sure he turns up in all the right places. A couple of weeks ago he was in Athens for the UEFA presidential election and held a number of meetings with European officials.
“It’s all part of sports politics and building up relationships. You say I have no voice but I do have some inside knowledge and huge credibility in the City. I don’t think you necessarily need to have a background in football administration. That has hardly been borne out by FIFA’s track record, has it? Give me one good example of an existing great administrator there?
“And besides, where are those who supposedly do have a voice? What have they done to make the changes FIFA so badly needs? I’m still up for being given a chance. I certainly don’t need to do it to make money. If that were the case, I’d stay where I am.”
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