Andy's Sting In The Tale (13/02/26) "UEFA's Bright Future"
- Andy Smith
- Feb 13
- 7 min read
It’s official, the Sun has started shining, even in Morningside, my wee room is warming up.
Anyway, this week Sandy Ceferin, Uefa’s Biggest Cheese, told everyone in the room, at the Uefa Congress in Bruxelles, “Uefa’s future is bright”.
He then snipped and sniped, “ We will never turn Loyalty into Luxury. Uefa is about community not commodity”.
But who was he being snippy and sniping at?
Well, Trump’s bestie, Jahnnie Infantino from Fifa was in also the room alongside our SFA delegation too.
During his speech Sandy, a man who has seen severe unrest in his own country back in the day, said some wise things.
“Global order is fragile, power decides our lives and you might ask what this has to do with football.
It has everything to do with football.
Football is a unifying force and societies that are divided are united by football.
Football belongs to football.
It belongs to our 55 national federations and their clubs.
It is built season after season and cannot be bought, cannot be sold.
We will always keep European football out of politics.
Uefa will always keep our soul.
We might change venues but not values”.
And as a final barb at the baldy, power-hungry man from Switzerland, he finished saying, “European football’s success story is like no other. And this is not by accident.
Respect is our football’s super-power, something the world is short of”.
I don’t know if Jahnnie was squirming or if he is so brazen that a blow torch would just bounce off his neck.
Actually, I do.
I know he was smirking deep inside because his Machiavellian political machinations have probably, no certainly outflanked his rival.
Money talks.
Jahnnie knows that.
Follow the money and the right people and all that.
Jahnnie’s blatant ‘Fifa Manifesto Promise’ of $5M to individual member associations for ‘projects’ and $40M to confederations is his forever political shield.
He’s a genius but his achievements are not always for the better of football.
Last week I suggested alternatives for what the letters Fifa might stand for and that raised a few smiles and eyebrows too, a rich vein indeed.
But special thanks to Andy from Dundee a long time Sting reader and supporter who tuped over with us in the late summer.
Andy suggested:
Funding Infantino’s Feudal Associates’.
He dug deeper too and also sent me his AI summary of the validity of his ‘Fifa’ suggestion which I’ve copied.
(These machines and their machinations are already scarier than scary).
AI Overview
Based on the context of criticism surrounding FIFA President Gianni Infantino, the phrase "Funding Infantino's Feudal Associates" is a metaphor describing a governance style where FIFA resources are directed toward loyalists and allies who support his power base, similar to a medieval lord rewarding his vassals.
This phrase suggests that Infantino operates FIFA like a "feudal" entity—concentrating power in his own hands, while "associates" (national football associations or confederations) receive financial, political, or developmental benefits in exchange for their loyalty.
Key interpretations of this phrase include:
• 集中 Power (Feudal Lordship): Critics, including some media, describe Infantino's leadership style as "Machiavellian," focusing on the consolidation of power, with decisions often made by a small, hand-picked circle, much like a feudal lord ruling over his territory.
• Rewarding Loyalty (Vassals): "Feudal Associates" implies that funding or developmental aid is distributed to those who ensure his re-election or support his initiatives (e.g., expanding the World Cup), rather than based on democratic or merit-based allocation.
• Distorting Competitions: The phrase is often used to characterize his restructuring of football tournaments, such as the Club World Cup, as prioritizing revenue for his allies (the "associates") over the integrity of the sport.
• Financial Control: The phrase highlights concerns that FIFA’s vast financial reserves are used as a tool to maintain this loyalty structure rather than for the general, equitable development of global football.
The phrase uses "feudal" to evoke a system of personal allegiance and subservience to a central, unchallenged leader, contrasting with the ideal of a democratic, transparent, and meritocratic organization.
what does Funding Infantino s Feudal Associates mean
"Funding Infantino's Feudal Associates" is a critical characterisation of FIFA's financial distribution model under President Gianni Infantino. It suggests that FIFA's funding programs, such as the
FIFA Forward Programme, operate more like a medieval feudal system than a modern democratic or merit-based organization.
Even the machines see what’s happening.
But living North of the Wall, being a BBC Scotland loyalist and reading a few papers daily on line there is never the right amount of coverage of real issues like this.
I get Micro but Macro needs more attention.
Football and the world historically hides all the badness behind Micro.
This Week’s Sting
1. Sod Our Tumbling Coefficient We May Have a Title Fight
2. Enough to Think About Summer Football
3. Good Luck Craig
4. Ratcliffe’s Ratner Moment
5. Hamilton and the Fear Factor
6. Bonnyrigg Breaking the Mould
1. A Threesome Nobody Would Have Predicted
Especially my pals on the blue side.
If Celtic win their game in hand after 70% of the season we have 3 teams in touching distance.
I could moan that they have too few Scots in their teams but there is no doubt that there will be many surprises because the gap between the top and bottom has narrowed.
I’m enjoying the run in.
2. Rain, Rain and More Bloody Rain
I remember how bad our pitches used to get in the winter.
It really was a different game in the mud.
With hard bare patches then a factor until July.
I’d prefer summer football.
Maybe I’m a closet Scandi?
3. A Redundant Proclamation?
Craig and Charlie gave us 500 Miles and for that we’ll be eternally grateful.
At my son’s wedding in Mexico it had turned all the Mexicans into Tartan Army recruits.
Another Craig, Craig Ferguson, indeed the other Craig Ferguson.
Well the Craig Ferguson who walked to Munich from Glasgow for the Euros is now walking 3000 miles from LA to Boston starting Feb 23rd for 104 consecutive days
A marathon every day.
He’s raising funds, hopefully a Million Pounds, for SAMH, Scottish Association for Mental Health.
He’s a good guy so please visit www.thetartantrek.co.uk and do your bit.
If only we could bottle the Tartan Army?
4. Jim’s Faux Pas
I smiled when Ratner got caught out because I met the man when he shafted a deal I had agreed with the old Birmingham jeweller, Samuels when he bought them.
He screwed my then client, Tennent’s, just because he could.
Winker, wrong spelling.
Not a nice experience.
Anyway Jim Ratcliffe is now telling us ‘The UK is being colonised by immigrants’.
It’s offensive because we all know that since the last ice age receded 12000 years ago Britain has indeed been colonised by wave after wave of people.
We all have them in our DNA.
What is offensive is he means a certain type of immigrant.
And his apology after his blunder is up there with Peter Mandleson’s on The Sunday show.
Hollow and grudged.
United have reacted saying they are an inclusive and welcoming and this is not a stooshie that will just run out of air.
Historically Jim, every UK family has been or is related to migrants.
Including you as someone who gave up on the UK and all those Scottish jobs.
So until you come home and start paying your taxes and working for a joint better future like we all do then I hope your Ratnerism bites you in the bum.
5. Hamilton’s Six Pointer Without Kicking a Ball
The SPFL removed 6 points yesterday because the club didn’t pay the players as per their contracts in December.
The club also admitted it had breached its tax obligations to HMRC and remains in default.
The announcement said, “The payment of players’ wages and the tax default and reporting rules, are vital parts of maintaining a fair league competition”.
Hamilton are not in a good place but I wish them well.
Football clubs are independent businesses and after one of our clubs went into meltdown in 2012 our game learned a lesson or two and now the payment of taxes is essential to keep playing.
A stroke of simple financial genius that has saved any need for a regulator costing millions.
And saved clubs from being rescuable.
But that is now 21 points deducted this year and the Cumbernauld club, ouch, have been knocked down to 11th.
There will never be regulation enough to cover ambition or fear of relegation and gambling by clubs but it can be controlled.
I hope the club sorts out the mess and right sizes.
6. Lowland Leaders Buck the Trend
The pitch has been levelled and The Rose are now 4 points clear of Clydebank, (remember them),
Bonnyrigg are defying the trend that has seen all other fall-outers from the SPFL struggle.
Up North, in the Highland League, Brechin are currently 4th but are in the mix with games in hand.
I love the pyramid but it has a dark side.
The fall-out syndrome needs some thought.
Andy’s Sting Blog
Thoughts and opinions are mine.
And like JM Keynes I reserve the right to change my mind if I get better information.
I prefer to think we are united by football rather than divided by which team we support.
The Scottish Football Union is a voice for all fans and if you are not a member you should be.
And as always feel free to write to me about anything in football or beyond even if it’s the same AI as Andy Mc from Dundee used for his Fifa piece
Andy’s Album of the Week
The Marcians : Wonderful Hellas
If you’ve ever been to Greece you’ve heard the sunshine in a sleeve that the wonderful Mikis Theodorakis shared with the world.
It was so grey and miserable this morning in Embra after the lightest dusting of snow that I have played good old tourist class Bouzouki and Syrtaki all day and it has brought the sun out and we’ve had the first bright day since ages.
I have an unopened bottle of Metaxa too and think it might just cap the day off.
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