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The name Harry Kewell has been sullied, topped Twitter trends, and could be placed back at the pinnacle of Australian sporting icons all within the space of a week.

Reports in Australia suggest that Kewell’s switch to an A-League club, likely to be Sydney FC or Melbourne Victory, is imminent. However, the lead-up to this point has created fierce – and necessary – debate about the game in Australia.

Bernie Mandic, the Paris-based agent charged with looking after Kewell’s career, promoted the idea that his client was on the verge of signing for an A-League club some weeks ago. Recently, though, Mandic gave a rebuke to Football Federation Australia, claiming they were unable to facilitate the demands of Kewell – a claim since denied by Australian football’s governing body.

The subsequent public fighting and, as many see it, deliberately misleading information distributed by Mandic has left a bitter taste in the mouth of many a staunch football devotee. But, despite this, Kewell’s ultimate capture would help not only restore any lost faith in the player’s reputation, but could be the answer to the A-League’s perceived woes.

Firstly, it may help to explain why bringing a 32-year-old with a history of injury problems back to the A-League is such a hot topic Down Under.

Since bursting onto the scene as a precocious talent in the mid-90s with Leeds United, Harry Kewell has represented the ideal footballer in the eyes of many Aussies. Playing in a talented young Premier League side, Kewell showed a worldwide audience that Australians aren’t all uncouth oafs happy to “lump it long and get it into the mixer”.

No, this cocky kid instead breezed by some of the world’s best defenders using a nuanced drop of the shoulder. He displayed technique and poise comfortably the equal of Australians such as Paul Okon [Lazio] and Ned Zelic [Borussia Dortmund] before him, but as an attacking player who scored scintillating goals, he captured the hearts and minds of football fans in his homeland like never before. His goal for the Socceroos in the 1997 World Cup qualifier against Iran to silence all inside the intimidating 100,000-capacity Azadi Stadium sealed his place as a hero.

So, for Australians who have been following the game for many years, Harry Kewell isn’t simply a talented national team player returning home after an extended career in Europe, as so many have already done. He is a representation of the best the nation has to offer, and is therefore a yardstick for recruitment decisions made by all A-League clubs. He offers on-field ability, off-field marketability and a name to draw people through turnstiles.

Indeed, when Kewell turned up in Newcastle in 2007 to do nothing more than say a few words and wave before the Jets v Adelaide match, he attracted the club’s first attendance of over 10,000 for the season. That is the kind of people-pulling power Australia’s top-flight could certainly use right now.

The A-League is in definite need of a jump-start to restore crowd figures and public interest after the downturn over the past 18 months. And this upcoming season provides the perfect platform for such an injection, given the extended off-season to allow for the new October kick-off of the competition.

Right now, from the A-League’s perspective, is the perfect time to bring a player like Kewell home. So the FFA’s eagerness to get involved in his recruitment is understandable, if not orthodox. They have offered a reported $250,000 incentive for Kewell to return home, which would sit alongside the player’s additional earnings from increases in club sponsorships and memberships. The FFA, like everyone else, can see how Kewell being used as an A-League ambassador would impact on the bigger picture of Australian football.

Many pundits have argued against the governing body becoming involved in negotiations between the player and clubs. Others have heavily criticised the bait-and-switch methods used by Kewell’s manager. But, ultimately, whatever the technique used to get the Socceroo to come home, the debate created in the meantime must be used as a catalyst to invigorate what should be an exciting and dynamic competition.

When the A-League began in 2005, it was the place every 20-something wanted to be, and had the image that many sports in the Antipodes have since tried to emulate. It was young, fresh and cool. It had a funky soundtrack and swagger in its step.

And that is the crux of the issue. Clubs and Federations are remembering what brought the A-League success in its fledgling years, and subsequently realising that there is no need create a new identity for the competition within the vastly competitive Australian sporting landscape. It already has the perfect persona, one that other sports with older demographics would love to have. The football community, led by the very people trying to lure Kewell back home, need only keep this vibrant, youthful notion alive.

Harry Kewell, the footballer who has embodied that same dynamic spirit, is the perfect man to remind the masses of Australian sports fans why the A-League is here to stay.

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FIFA member Mohamed Bin Hammam refused to speak to investigators or provide his bank records during the probe into allegations he paid cash gifts to Caribbean football officials, according to a report to FIFA’s ethics committee.

The report, by Freeh Group International (FGI) Europe – the private investigative agency owned by ex-FBI chief Louis Freeh – concludes that while there is “no direct evidence” linking Bin Hammam to the offer or payment of cash there is “compelling circumstantial evidence” that the 62-year-old Qatari was the source of the money.

Bin Hammam, a FIFA executive committee member and president of the Asian Football Confederation, has been suspended since May 29 on charges of bribery. He denies any wrongdoing.

The Freeh report states: “Through his legal counsel, Mr Bin Hammam refused to speak with Investigative Counsel working for the FIFA ethics committee, but expressed his willingness to co-operate with and appear before the FIFA ethics committee.

“Also through his legal counsel, Mr Bin Hammam provided some documents, but refused to provide his banking records for review and said that requested telephone records do not exist. The lone banking record provided was proof of a wire transfer from Mr Bin Hammam to the CFU on April 28, 2011, in the amount of 363,557.98 US dollars.”

That sum was to cover the cost of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) delegates’ travel and accommodation to a special meeting in Trinidad, which Bin Hammam had agreed to pay.

Seven associations from the CFU have told investigators they were offered or accepted cash gifts of 40,000 US dollars in a room in the Hyatt Regency hotel on May 10 after Bin Hammam had made a presentation about his campaign to be FIFA president.

A witness from an eighth association said he avoided entering the room once he learned that cash was being offered there. A witness from a ninth association, Aruba, did not enter the room and expected a subsequent wire transfer of funds.

The Freeh report will be the basis for next week’s FIFA ethics committee hearing involving Bin Hammam and two officials from the CFU, Debbie Minguell and Jason Sylvester.

Jack Warner, the FIFA vice-president who was charged along with Bin Hammam, will not face the ethics committee after FIFA dropped the investigation into him following his resignation from football activities.

Neither Warner nor Bin Hammam, nor Minguell and Sylvester, co-operated with the investigation, according to the inquiry team.

The Freeh report says witnesses stated Warner told the 25 CFU associations on May 11 that Bin Hammam had provided the cash gifts.

“Several witnesses advised that Mr Warner stated that the cash had originated with Mr Bin Hammam and the cash was given to them at Mr Warner’s suggestion, instead of a more formal gift, such as silver or a plate,” the report says.

It continues: “There is no direct evidence linking Mr Bin Hammam to the offer or payment of money to the attendees of the Trinidad and Tobago meeting. However, there is compelling circumstantial evidence, including statements attributed to Mr Warner, to suggest that the money did originate with Mr Bin Hammam and was distributed by Mr Warner’s subordinates as a means of demonstrating Mr Warner’s largesse.

“Indeed, the funds were offered to attendees shortly after Mr Bin Hammam’s campaign speech.”

The Freeh report says FIFA should consider charging CFU general secretary Angenie Kanhai after she provided a letter to the Puerto Rican association “explaining the purpose of the cash, so that the attendee could provide an explanation about the origin of the cash to Customs and to the bank”. That letter has been sent to the FIFA ethics committee as evidence.

The report also raised questions about Simpaul Travel, a travel agency connected to the Warner family, being used to provide the transport and accommodation for the CFU delegates.

“The involvement of Simpaul Travel in the logistics of the Trinidad and Tobago conference raises the issue of whether Mr Warner may have been the beneficiary of related parties’ transactions,” the report says.

Chuck Blazer, the FIFA member from the United States who first blew the whistle on the scandal, told the investigators that he discussed the 360,000 US dollar cost of the Trinidad conference with Angenie Kanhai.

The report states: “According to Mr Blazer, Ms Kanhai said that she had developed the budget and then ‘doubled the budget at Jack’s request’.”

The evidence accompanying the report also includes a copy of the sheet on which Louis Giskus, the president of the Surinam FA, wrote down the serial numbers of the bills he received in Trinidad.

Surinam and Puerto Rico still have the money in their accounts while they wait for instructions on what to do with it.

The Grenada Football Federation have already spent all but 1,000 dollars of the 40,000 dollars they received, investigators were told.

Bin Hammam did not respond when invited to comment.

Credit: http://soccernet.espn.go.com