Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/621909
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 3 JANUARY 2016 8 News 2016 Looking ahead TO say that 2015 was football's annus horribilis is a huge understatement. In reality, for those of us who still manage to follow the game with a minimum of passion, it provided some relief. At least some of the wrongdoing at the top of its structures won't go unpunished. Yet, trust in the way sport is governed is at an all time low, and that is not good news. The New Year should bring some hope. It must. Sepp, this way out please Monday 21st December: "I am still the president. I regret, but I am not ashamed". Tuesday 29th December: "I now no longer fight for Fifa. They abandoned me. I am now only fighting for myself and my honour." These were the last two pearls of wisdom Sepp Blatter parted with. With his logic he should be the next candidate for sainthood. I'm sure he did give it some thought. It's just a tad trickier with an Argentinian Pope. One could always conjure to find an acquaintance to take his place as a post- FIFA project. The big day: 26th February 2016 As both Blatter and Platini battle it out in tribunals and courtrooms, the process to elect FIFA's next president goes on. In all likelihood, end of February comes too soon for the two – particularly Platini – to manage some kind of res- urrection. In my eyes the Frenchman turned out to be the biggest loser in the whole saga. He had planned a smooth transition to the FIFA presidency once Blatter retired. The latter stayed a term too many and Platini did not have the audacity to contest him this year. Now he arguably ended up, perhaps unjustly, as disgraced as his former mentor. Since July we've had a rollercoaster of arrests, suspen- sions, extraditions and so many other events that should not even be mentioned in the same sentence with sport. You can't really be blamed for raising your hopes too high in view of this election. The sad reality is that the inherent culture of governance in world football (as in most inter- national sports federations) does not leave much space for idealistic optimism. The list of candidates vying for the post in question does little to disprove my point. The five possible saviours One of the candidates' claim to fame is having spent time in jail with Nelson Mandela. South African Tokyo Sexwale eventually made it big in the mining business and served on the South Africa 2010 World Cup Organising Committee. Another, Jerome Champagne, served on FIFA's Execu- tive Committee for 11 years (although never implied in any scandals). He had failed to obtain the minimum number of five nominations to contest Blatter last May. His battle-cry is the need for better redistribu- tion of the wealth football creates. Noble idea, one which the big boys (i.e. big countries and big leagues with big clubs) won't like. Europe's candidate, current UEFA General Secretary Gianni Infantino, was the latest addition to the lot. He's known as a good administrator but he never occupied the Football 'No room for idealistic optimism as football gets ready to elect a new boss' Angelo Chetcuti, council member of the Malta F.A. As both Blatter (left) and Platini (right) battle it out in tribunals and courtrooms, the process to elect FIFA's next president goes on. In all likelihood, end of February comes too soon for the two – particularly Platini – to manage some kind of resurrection. In my eyes the Frenchman turned out to be the biggest loser in the whole saga. AS a movement, we plan to educate more youth on the val- ue of human life and human dignity. Laws that will have a significant impact on human life are being enacted without there first being a fair debate on their consequences. The immediate challenge for next year is the government's pro- posal to introduce embryo freezing, which we will stand firmly against. We want the public to be more aware of the value of hu- man dignity. Nobody has an absolute right to have a child – babies shouldn't be handed out like chocolate. The norm that babies are the fruit of the love between couples is un- der threat. After speaking to Maltese youth, we found out that they know very little about the actual procedures being spoken about – how embryos are frozen and how abortion is car- ried out. Malta loves copying the West, and a prevalent attitude ex- ists here that everything that happens in the United States must de facto be a good idea. However, we must have a good hard think on what values we would like to adopt. The Free Love movement left a lot of pain in its wake, with indiscriminate sex leading to a rise in STDs. Moreover, the West has become too indulgent, and it is now afflicted with obesity and alcoholism. Are those healthy aspects of a culture? Should we now open the gates for embryo freezing and eventually abortion because they are being spoken about as the next steps for a progressive society? Do they really represent progressive values? After all, societies should be measured by how well they treat their most vulnerable members and embryos are ultimately human life too. We shouldn't encourage such a callous and negative attitude towards life in the name of 'progress'. Look at divorce – I realise that it was introduced to help people who are trapped in be- trayed marriages, but couples are now making parachute agreements on divorce before they even get married. Is that healthy? This has got nothing to do with religion – it's a question of human feeling. I want to be clear, our aim at Life Network is not to im- pose our values on others but to educate people. The fight against embryo freezing will be challenging of course. First of all, the local media doesn't favour us, and has an obvious liberalisation agenda while not often ques- tioning what exactly they want to liberalise. Many popular TV debates are often biased against us too, with presenters who like to portray themselves as liberal setting up unbal- anced panels and trying to trip us up with their questions. Fair debates necessarily require fair referees. There is also big money lobbying for reform behind the scenes – IVF is the most lucrative medical service around, and it is in private clinics' business interests to expand it. Indeed, IVF providers are against NaProTechnology, which they view as a competitor. Then of course there's the powerful gay lobby to reckon with. Not satisfied with being able to adopt children, they now want to be able to create their own children as well. I believe that civil unions was a healthy development, but this is not about LGBT+ rights. Children aren't objects, and a person's rights end where another person's rights begin. When discussing this proposal, we must constantly put ourselves in the position of the child. As told to Tim Diacono Klaus Vella Bardon is a member of pro-life organisation Life Network How Catholic 'revanchists' will fight back secularist aspirations The conservative backlash The media does not favour us, and it has an obvious liberalisation agenda while not often questioning what exactly they want to liberalise