Promise

"Your Highness, football currently enjoys widespread attention and popularity in Europe. If the headquarters of FIFA were to be established outside of Europe, would there not be too many problems?" Hisshoeman asked, bracing himself.

Although Hisshoeman knew that snatching the FIFA headquarters away from Arthur's hands was practically impossible, he still wanted to brace himself and give it a try.

"Oh? What specific problems are there? Could Mr. Hisshoeman explain in detail?" Arthur looked at Hisshoeman with mild interest and said with a light smile.

Seeing that Arthur was not being overly aggressive, a surge of joy rose in Hisshoeman's heart, and he quickly said, "Your Highness, currently, most of the countries worldwide that have football associations, or are about to establish them, are in Europe. This also means that FIFA will receive the warmest welcome and recognition in Europe. I believe the FIFA headquarters should be placed in Europe, which would make things much more convenient when managing football affairs and organizing large-scale tournaments. After all, Europe is the center of the world, and football is no exception."

Observing Arthur's expression and seeing that he did not display any dissatisfaction or anger over his words, Hisshoeman felt relieved and continued speaking, "If FIFA's headquarters were to be placed outside of Europe, firstly, there aren't many football associations and clubs in other regions, and football isn't nearly as popular. Secondly, FIFA will definitely be used to manage and coordinate worldwide football affairs. If it is located outside of Europe, handling global matters might prove slightly troublesome, and organizing tournaments might fail to gain a response from most countries worldwide—especially within Europe—due to distance and time constraints."

What Hisshoeman said was actually correct. Historically, the first World Cup organized by FIFA was just like that; because it was held in South America, most European countries did not participate, and the influence of the inaugural World Cup was only significant in South America.

However, Arthur did not care about any of that. If FIFA was established with Australian support, then the headquarters had to be placed in Australia, and Australia should also have priority when it came to hosting tournaments. This was Arthur's bottom line.

Arthur was no philanthropist, and no matter how much funds he had in hand, he would not simply hand them over to make a contribution to FIFA.

If they wanted Arthur's support to establish FIFA, the future FIFA had to pay a certain price in order to earn that backing.

"These are not problems at all, Mr. Hisshoeman. FIFA is a unified football association on a global scale, and we cannot limit our vision to Europe just because of the current state of football's development. If you are willing to place FIFA's headquarters in Australia, then Australia will also support you in establishing FIFA and is willing to contribute its own share for FIFA's tournaments." Arthur's seemingly argumentative words concealed a trace of firmness and a threat.

"Your Highness, if FIFA is located thousands of miles away in Australia, then I am afraid that the various tournaments organized by FIFA will not be welcomed in Europe. Due to time and distance, coupled with financial limitations, the number of countries participating in tournaments in the future might not be large," Hisshoeman quickly reminded him.

Hisshoeman also sensed the trace of threat in Arthur's words. Although Australia's current demands were not particularly excessive compared to the demands of various European countries, who could guarantee that the future FIFA would not be influenced by the Australian Government?

After all, one had to bow one's head when living under someone else's roof.

"Mr. Hisshoeman does not need to worry about this matter. If FIFA truly intends to host large-scale global tournaments in the future, Australia is willing to cover all expenses for such tournaments, including travel costs for any clubs and national teams. I believe Mr. Hisshoeman has seen Australia's sincerity; if Mr. Hisshoeman still does not believe it, then I can only express my apologies." Arthur waved his hand to interrupt Hisshoeman's defense, stood up, and said with a light smile.

Wanting to obtain Australia's support while refusing to let Australia gain any benefits—Arthur could only say that Hisshoeman was daydreaming.

FIFA and the World Cup created by FIFA, even in later generations, were sports organizations and tournaments of immense influence.

If they could seize early control of FIFA at such a juncture, Australia would be able to drastically elevate its international reputation and immigration appeal through future World Cups.

For a newly born nation like Australia, international reputation and immigration appeal were the two most important things. If you wanted countries all over the world to acknowledge that you were a powerhouse, you at least had to make the whole world recognize you, didn't you?

"Very well, Your Highness. I agree to your conditions. I will explain this to the French Football Association, establish FIFA as soon as possible, and transfer FIFA's headquarters to Australia." After struggling through much hesitation, Hisshoeman was ultimately unwilling to give up the great historical achievement of founding FIFA—one that would secure his place in football history—and chose to compromise with Arthur.

"Very good, Mr. Hisshoeman, you have made the most correct choice." Arthur said with a smile, "Australia will fully support you in lobbying the various European football associations to establish FIFA and in electing you as FIFA's first General Secretary."

As the saying went, give a carrot after a stick. After extracting many benefits from Hisshoeman, Arthur did not mind pushing him to the high post of FIFA's head, allowing him to truly leave a lasting mark in football history.

"Then I thank Your Highness. Please rest assured, as soon as I return to Europe, I will step up efforts to unite the football associations of France and other countries to accelerate the process of establishing FIFA. I also ask that you prepare the necessary funds in advance; the construction of FIFA can begin as early as the end of this year." Hisshoeman was finally no longer wearing his previous expression, and his face began to fill with joy and excitement.

The reason Hisshoeman was so eager to establish FIFA was, first, to leave a deep and colorful stroke of his own in the history of football's development, and second, to genuinely propel the cause of football forward at a rapid pace.

As the General Secretary of the Dutch Football Association, Hisshoeman's passion for football could not be said to be anything less than genuine.

Yet, if it had to be weighed against his own reputation, whether that passion was truly important was perhaps something only Hisshoeman himself knew.

The development of events clearly left Hisshoeman very satisfied. The establishment of FIFA was moving in a favorable direction, and Hisshoeman had also secured Arthur's promise to propel him to the coveted throne of FIFA's future first General Secretary.

This dual satisfaction of career and passion made this nearly fifty-year-old man feel an excitement and elation he had not experienced for a long time.