Tomorrow a high-ranking delegation of FIFA, CONCACAF, and UNCAF officials will arrive in Belize to mediate the ongoing conflict between the national government and the Football Federation of Belize. The delegation is composed on officials from Central America but wearing different hats. Rafael Salguero of Guatemala is on the FIFA Executive Committee, Ariel Alvarado of Guatemala represents the CONCACAF ExCo, and Rafael Tinoco is the UNCAF president.
At the start of the preliminary round series between Belize and Montserrat, the Belizean government refused to recognize the FFB as the sport's governing body in the country, which resulted in the country being suspended by FIFA and then having its home leg match moved to Honduras. In the interim, a rival federation to the FFB has been founded -- the National Football Association of Belize (NFAB) -- but last week the National Sports Council refused to recognize either association due to incomplete and unsatisfactory bylaws. At this present time, there is no football association that represents Belize, at least in the eyes of the Belizean government.
It is not clear whether these high-ranking officials representing the chain of command in international soccer will mediate between the factions in Belizean soccer, or remind the national government that it is FIFA, not the national government, who will decide which federation is fit to represent that country. There has been a lot of talk in the Belizean press that views the FIFA intervention as a positive and long-sought event, which strikes me as very naive. FIFA administrations have a track record of defending their allies in the national federations against inquiries by local governments, and FIFA has a major bargaining chip to use in any such discussion. I don't see how this Belizean situation is so different.