By Andrew Warshaw
October 6 – When the great and the good of FIFA’s new ruling Council converge on Zurich for next week’s eagerly awaited first full meeting, there will be no point in reporters seeking titbits of news by doorstepping the exclusive Baur au Lac hotel, for years the regular haunt of FIFA powerbrokers.
In its drive to break with its painful past, FIFA has put an end to its association with now-infamous lakeside hotel, the venue which came to symbolise wealth and privilege and became synonymous with the corruption scandal that brought the organisation to its knees.
No longer will previously untouchable FIFA bigwigs, who used to roam the corridors and lobby of the luxurious hotel striking deals and holding whispered meetings, often with World Cup bidding nations, be staying there. No longer will they be woken up by police and escorted unceremoniously from their beds into waiting cars.
FIFA is moving its Council members, including those who formed part of the disbanded executive committee, from the 172-year-old Baur au Lac to the slightly more modest five-star Park Hyatt in Zurich.
It’s not just about image. It’s also about perception and cost-cutting. The cheapest double room for next week’s meeting at the Baur au Lac would have been CHF 870, while the same can be booked at the Hyatt for CHF 527.
The decision to switch hotels was made by new FIFA secretary general Fatma Samoura as one of her first moves in trying to create a more accountable governance profile.
Samoura, only recently appointed, is heavily scrutinising financial excess and realised straight away that the Baur au Lac has became something of a toxic environment in the wake of that infamous dawn raid in May last year when seven officials were arrested by Swiss police acting on behalf of American authorities, who have since charged more than 40 people and entitities. The seven included powerbrokers such as vice-president Jeffrey Webb (Cayman Islands), head CONCACAF; former South American confederation president Eugenio Figueredo (Uruguay); incoming FIFA exco member Eduardo Li (Costa Rica); and former Brazilian CBF president Jose Maria Marin. Two more people were detained there last December.
But from now on, the less palatial Park Hyatt will be the preferred choice of accommodation even though it is still one of Zurich’s most lavish hotels. If FIFA’s top brass are put out by being ever so slightly downgraded, tough on them. There could be more pain to come since it is understood ending FIFA’s long relationship with the Baur au Lac may not be the last of Samoura’s cost-cutting measures as she tries to impose a more acceptable level of spending.
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