By Chris Wright
FIFA have taken another blow to the beanbag this week with the news that the Nobel Peace Centre, i.e, the board responsible for handing out the Nobel Peace Prize, have severed their links for football’s governing body in the wake of the corruption scandal currently engulfing the organisation.
The Nobel Peace Centre (which is based in Norway) had been involved with FIFA in a joint venture, the ‘Handshake for Peace’ initiative, which aimed to promote “peace, solidarity and fair play” in an attempt to “inspire the football word to unite”.
Developed in conjunction with the Norwegian Football Association, the initiative had been formally endorsed by FIFA (who had agreed to contribute €800,000 towards it) as “part of its mission to build a better future through football”.
However, the Nobel Peace Centre have announced in a press release that they are now planning to nix their ties to FIFA and will end their cooperation “as soon as the circumstances allow it” after all the recent fun and frolics in Zurich.
“This does not mean that the FIFA agreement is terminated immediately, but that a dialogue starts about the ending of the cooperation from the side of the Nobel Peace Center,” added Bente Erichsen, executive director of the Nobel Peace Center.
“We still believe in the Handshake for Peace initiative, and wish for it to live on in the future.”
Poor Sepp. You know he actually once said his one remaining ambition in life was to win a Nobel Peace Prize.
Sadly, it now looks like that day will never come. Shame.