FIFA Election Monitors En Route to Nigeria

Back in May, I posted on FIFA efforts to suspend Cambodia's soccer federation after the ruling government engaged in manipulation of the federation's elections. In an effort at preventative shaming, FIFA has now decided to deploy election monitors to Nigeria to monitor Tuesday's election of a president for the country's soccer association. Given Nigeria's soccer prowess (currently 11th in FIFA's questionable world rankings), the state of soccer in that country is of far more international concern. Five candidates are vying for the soccer association's presidency. Although the candidates have engaged in a televised debate, critics have charged that few hard questions about candidates' ethics were raised. In a country where all major political parties have been charged with election rigging, it's no surprise that a soccer association could fall victim to the same sad state of affairs (as Greg noted in March, Nigerian soccer refs are permitted to accept bribes). Hopefully, international attention will be more lasting and effective than it has been in Nigeria's political arena.

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