An Open Letter To FIFA President
Dear President:
We appreciate your outstanding grand opening ceremony of the 2018 FIFA WORLD CUP RUSSIA announcement in the Arabic Language. Although, Arab countries dominate a significant major part of the world map, their language is not one of the FIFA official languages. Arabic Language however remains one of the United Nation official languages, so FIFA should consider using and implementing the same standard.
“Fair Play” and “Say No To Racism” are important mottos of FIFA and it should use them in its competition rules and procedures fairly. However, they cannot be advanced or enhanced without accelerating side-by-side by affording the fair opportunity in play to be met as meant. We believe each nation deserves a fair opportunity to be selected as a host for the World Cup. To this end, the entire world has noticed that some countries repeatedly hosted the world cup twice in the past and still offered to host again while others remain in shadow despite their frequent requests to do so. For instance, Morocco had applied five (5) consecutive times to host the event and [all] of its attempts was rejected. In sharing the historical opportunity of hosting the competition twice, so far Brazil, France, Germany, and Italy have already hosted the World Cup twice. Similarly, Mexico, on the other hand, hosted the tournament twice in 1970 and 1986, also bid to do so for the third time in 2026 to join the United States of which hosted once and recently offered to host for its second time since 1994 with the leading Canada. Ultimately, the FIFA Congress selected Canada, USA, and Mexico to host in 2026. Of course, the decision was motivated and influenced by the fact of the latest conviction of some of the FIFA corrupt members who are now serving their sentences in an American prison. It is just miles away from where the 2026 stadium proposed for the final. This should serve as a valuable advisory to set the basic principle. Henceforth, FIFA should refrain from intimidating nations to ban their international football when they try to correct or root out the corrupt members within their football associations in the same fashion and determination FIFA had done with its own members. Accordingly, the fair opportunity, along with the environment of fairness and equalities among nations, still remains absent from the entire FIFA process.
Given the undeniable fact of the unbalanced process led directly to the unfair treatment, all of which left other countries struggling to get their fair share of the competition. This compelled us to urge the former president to increase the number of participation, especially from Africa, the forgotten continent, for which he generously replied and granted. In essence, the Egyptian History is one of the substantial curriculums being studied for generation after generation at every corner around the globe. Yet, FIFA is reluctant to honor itself and to marry its history with the Pharaonic History. The oldest history and the most unique, unparalleled, and sophisticated ancient civilization has ever known to the primitive and modern world of all time, has never hosted the World Cup. How insane, if not embarrassing, this will sound for FIFA and the entire world.
At this point, the world football’s governing body (FIFA) should realize that the time has arrived to award Egypt to host the 2030 or (2034) to memorialize and commemorate the hundred-year anniversary of (1934) of Egypt’s first world cup participation in Italy. The Great Egyptian Pyramids surrounded by the feature of football balls should be the recognized logo. The Pharaohs therefore should be allowed to wear their shirts printed with the pyramids in gold.
With that in mind, the fair play and opportunity in game as well as in selecting a location for the tournament altogether must be equally afforded to all nations to be met as meant in order to restore the world’s confidence, trust and integrity in this most prestigious sporting organization.
Thanking you for your anticipated attention to my concern for better world football, I remain,
Cordially,
/s/ Assem A. Abulkhair
Son of Pharaohs & Africa
