THE ONLY JOURNEY, IS THE ONE WITHIN

On the way home tonight, I was listening to Public Service Broadcasting’s ‘Everest.’ As the last bars fade out, a voice asks: “Why should a man climb Everest?” And the same man answers: “Because it is there.”

Tariq Panja once told me: “with all the things that you’ve seen or heard, you should keep a diary, and publish a book one day.” Recent attempts by others probably mean mine would not be a best seller. By occasionally blogging, it's an outlet, to share a few stories. Today, I met someone trying to climb his Everest.

More than 16 years ago, I joined The Football Association in the first ever Customer Relations Unit. My foot in the door owed something to a lucky connection with someone I worked with previously in a Sloane Street secretarial recruitment company. And despite nervously calling myself a ‘carrot cruncher’ in the interview, Mark Sudbury still took a chance on me!
Today, I met finally, face-to-face, Jeronimo Diaz Tomic. He’s worked in football before. In Chile. In Australia. Now he wants to work for FIFA. In September, he cycled 1215km from Toulouse, in the South of France, where he lives with his wife and son. He took 25 days, via UEFA and IOC HQs, to deliver a letter and CV, expressing his dream to work in sport. On the way, he camped. Sometimes, he slept in fields. He then delivered his letter and CV to FIFA reception. Then left again. He documented his journey in an incredible video.

He found me on Twitter shortly after that trip, and we struck up a rapport. This was a guy who so badly wanted to get his foot in the door, as I did 16 years ago. I thought it deserved to be known about. So I posted a few tweets.

As his story was picked up in French media, we started to discuss the idea of him visiting FIFA. He would plan his journey, in order to find a cheap train fare. This afternoon, he finally arrived through the Zurich fog, after a journey from Toulouse, via Paris. 15 hours. Overnight. We did a mini tour of FIFA HQ. We visited the Committee room. The ‘Meditation’ room, - where visitors who need a quiet place to pray, can do so in peace – and our TV studio.

Over lunch, we tried to further nail down what would be his ‘dream job.’ Jeronimo presented me with a book. Hardback. Stunning photography. Produced and crowd-funded, by people who like me, could see something special. As we talked, he also did a bit of filming. Jeronimo explained that the bicycle he came to Zurich with in September had been sold. The drone, with which he filmed, had also been sold. Instead, he’d bought a new camera, and was testing out new ways to document his journey, in the same way he hoped in future, he may document FIFA projects.

He also had two more books he wanted to leave for the FIFA President and Secretary General. I told him I’d introduce him to a few people. Then we’d leave the books. But we got a bit bold!

After delivering one photo book to a good friend who works in the Presidential Office, we walked to the other side of the building. By then, I had the sales pitch for Jeronimo well-rehearsed. Just as I started to make my pitch to one of the SG’s team, she said: “I think we can do better than that.”

Fatma arrived. Invited us into her office. They chatted. We showed her Jeronimo’s video. And he explained why he wanted to work for FIFA. Why he’d been inspired to cycle 1215km, in the hope he might one day get to realise his dream.

The look on his face, as we chatted downstairs afterwards and hugged, was one I hope to see again. It was flushed with a happiness and, a puzzlement almost, as if the last half an hour hadn’t really happened. There have been few highlights, and many more lowlights in the last two years, but this afternoon was special. Because I met a special human being. 

Two days ago, Jeromino posted another video. He said he would not give up, until his story reached the right person. After today, I was reminded that if you find an ‘Everest’ in front of you, you could be beaten immediately. Alternatively, you can think of possible ways to conquer it. There are many cod-philosophical ways I could try to end this blog. However, one quote stands out from Mark Twain: “The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” I hope we started something for Jeronimo today.

SEE YOU AT THE CROSSROADS

It has been more than a year since my last blog. The fact that this one is titled after a Blazing Squad lyric does not bode well! But bear with me.

This morning I flew back to Zurich, after my second week-long spell in Jordan during the last month. If you didn't know, Jordan hosted the FIFA U17 Women's World Cup. It involved 16 teams, who played 32 matches between 30 September and 21 October. Last night, Korea DPR beat Japan on penalties, to win the fifth edition of the tournament.

These games were not shown too widely on TV. We tried our best to connect fans via FIFA's Social Media channels, and our website. Away from Zurich, and the launch of the new FIFA Vision, the staff who worked as professionally as ever in Jordan were a little out of sight, out of mind. After all "it's only an U17 Women's World Cup." But was it?

At the beginning of this month, I clocked up my eighth year at FIFA. I would be lying if I said that in the last couple of years, the thought of leaving FIFA had not crossed my mind. I was at a real crossroads. Sometimes, the negativity swirling around got too much. I care. Care about my work. Care about trying to change something, however small. And I believe, despite the endless stream of lurid global newspaper articles, there are people I work with, who also work bloody hard to try and make a difference.

The FIFA U17 Women's World Cup in Jordan was a first. The first FIFA women's competition in the Middle East. It was the first international tournament Jordan had ever hosted. And, due to the host team's participation, it would be the first FIFA tournament where any active female player had worn a 'headscarf', to be able to play elite football.

Jordan (to quote Wikipedia) "is is an Arab kingdom in Western Asia, on the East Bank of the Jordan River. Jordan is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the east and south, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north, Israel, Palestine and the Dead Sea to the west and the Red Sea in its extreme south-west. Jordan is strategically located at the crossroads of Asia, Africa and Europe."

If Jordan is located at a geographical crossroads, many would argue that since 2015, FIFA itself has been at a crossroads. The view of many - some very well informed, others far less so - was that FIFA as an organisation was rotten to its core. And therefore, by association, that also meant me. My colleagues. And anyone else who worked there.

In recent years i've tried to use Twitter as an outlet to try to tell people (as much as I could, based on what I knew), the difference between 'perception and reality.' Often I would be criticised. On one occasion, a former mentor kindly DMd me to tell me perhaps I should take a break. He suggested maybe I was "trying too hard. That people didn't want to listen." The clear message was that people had made their minds up. And I was wasting my time. He of course had a valid point. But my point, was that on a day-to-day basis, life in Zurich was different. Very different. Beyond the opulent reception, were two floors of offices. And sat among those for example, were a very small group, working on the development of women's football.

After last night's game and the trophy lift, I wanted to sample the last bit of atmosphere. As I walked towards the light at the end of the player's tunnel, players from both teams walked past me. North Korean girls giggled, medals hanging round their necks. Some were in tears. Then, as I got nearer the field, the Japan team started to walk past me en masse. Every single player was in tears. One, who brought up the rear, was crying in an utterly uncontrollable way. Indelible images. The tournament mattered. It really mattered.

So, after this very circuitous build-up, I just wanted to tell you a few things that colleagues of mine did in Jordan. That shows this tournament mattered to them too. And it may help a few of you change your mind about FIFA. Maybe.

All these projects fall under the bracket 'legacy.' That word, especially to a group of British Sports News journalists, whose work I admire greatly, has long been overused related to sports events. But in Jordan, tangible things were done, that went way beyond just re-painting a few walls, or screwing in some new seats.

FIFA discussed how this could be done with the LOC from Day 1. Colleagues like Tatjana, Rebecca, Mayi, Arijana and Honey and Sego. There's not many of them. Every Monday, for months, a group sat together in Zurich, and brainstormed ideas. I was one of them too. Brainstorming is the easy part. But, could something tangible be delivered? The LOC, guided by FIFA decided that 75% of all staff who would deliver the tournament, would be women. Who would be educated. Trained. And be able to do this kind of work again. People like former player Farah Al-Badarneh, who oversaw all stadium work.

FIFA Live Your Goals festivals were organised across the tournament with the Jordan FA. The aim: simply to introduce more young girls to football. Hopefully, many would continue to play recreationally. Whilst others may become part of a player pyramid, and go on to play for their country.

A seminar was set up to bring senior representatives from other Middle Eastern countries together. To share ideas. To review potential and future women’s football development in West Asia. Strategic planning, promotion, youth and league development.

As the tournament got nearer, discussions during the summer turned towards refugees. Jordan had seen its population swell by more than 1.5million refugees from Syria over the last 4-5 years. And some of them lived in a huge camp, called Al Zataari. Discussions lasted for weeks. Our worry was that anything we tried to do, would be viewed cynically. Cheap PR. That we (FIFA) "didn't mean it."


In the end, after some incredibly complex negotiations, something was approved. Some of the colleagues named above organised the logistics. And one of our VJs was allowed to film it. What she saw, haunted her. A colleague from a anice Swiss family, suddenly face-to-face with the daily realities of a refugee camp. Another colleague, who became the first captain of the female Palestinian national team, had a different perspective. She knows what it's like to cling onto hope. Footballs and t-shirts were dispatched. A football festival was organised. The FIFA U17 Women's World Cup trophy was taken to the camp. And for just a few hours, a range of agencies came together, to do something amazing. My VJ colleague came home 3 days later and edited this video. I don't think she stopped crying the whole time.

In fact, no-one who was involved could get the experience, or the images out of their minds. So a new round of discussions started in Zurich. Some of the young girls had asked if it would be possible to watch a game, once the tournament got underway. The problem, is that once you are in a refugee camp, it's incredibly difficult to get permission to leave. Remarkably, once again, some of my colleagues performed a minor miracle. And 250 young children were invited to Jordan's - their adopted country - first game. Some of the girls who were involved in the original festival came.

As news arrived that the girls' bus had got to the stadium, my VJ colleague suddenly reached into a rucksack. She had brought a small teddy bear for one girl in particular. Some colouring pencils. A colouring book with Swiss alpine scenes. Some chocolate for her mum. And a small mini football with a Swiss flag embossed on it, for her brother. Just writing this brings tears to my eyes. Again. Because I know just how much this young girl had got under her skin. Into her brain. Before the game, we spoke to some of the girls. We made another short video. And as they left, we all sat in a small office. And agreed that although it wasn't much, we had done something. The day before I flew home, I read The Sun wanted to fire Gary Lineker for his views on refugees. Hmmm.

As the tournament progressed, so more and more events were organised. A regional coaching workshop with 16 Middle Eastern females. Another Live Your Goals festival. And at the wrap-up press conference, a video was shown which displayed many more areas of legacy that the tournament had helped deliver. The Bronze medal match was refereed by a woman from Ethiopia. One of the Assistant Referees for the Final, was from India.

In less than a month, the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup will be played in Papua New Guinea. Preparations have not always been straightforward. But again, legacy has been a key element in discussions, to try and ensure that however the home team fare - and like Jordan, the odds are heavily stacked against them, in their own FIFA women's tournament debut - PNG will leave it's own legacy. And already, more women, are being trained, to deliver key roles, crucial to the tournament's success.

The sun has now set on Jordan. In 2018, the country will host the AFC Women's Asian Cup. It's no coincidence that Moya Dodd - who has done wonders for women's football, and women in FIFA the last 18 months - was an integral member of the AFC committee. She knows there are stadia in Jordan now ready. Training sites ready, the majority FIFA approved Football Turf pitches (aka astroturf), that can survive Jordan's incredibly dry climate, and chronic water shortage. She knows, that a genuine legacy has been created.

FIFA was at a crossroads. In many people's opinions, it is still there. The future will not be straightforward. The past will continue to raise its head, as we saw only this week, with the latest pleas in the US. But, the next time someone mentions FIFA, and you jump to add the word 'corruption', 'mafia' or something similar, maybe, just maybe, this blog may help you to understand that there is another side of the organisation. It's less well known. Never going to make back page headlines or the 10 o'clock news. But it's real. I'm very proud to be a small part of it, when we can deliver something like this. And I hope, this will be the type of story we can tell more and more in future.

Thanks for reading (and apologies if you made it this far). I'll maybe see you at the next crossroads.
Alex