Transparency International outlines principles for FIFA reform commission
Transparency International has published a number of concrete recommendations on how an independent FIFA reform commission could be established.
An independent panel of stakeholders rather than FIFA should be responsible for the appointment of the chairman of a new independent reform commission working for a thorough clean-up in the scandal-ridden organisation. The commission itself should thereafter be appointed among football’s many stakeholders by the chairman himself without any interference from FIFA.
These are some of the 19 suggestions from a new Transparency International (TI) proposal outlining the possible establishment and task of an independent FIFA reform commission and its ideal organisational set-up.
Securing genuine independence is a leitmotif in the proposal:
When appointed, the chairman and the commission will be supported by an independent secretariat, which should be funded, but not controlled, by FIFA. And the commission should be given free hands to look into how FIFA can reform its governance structures, minimise risks of corruption and establish more transparent procedures for the awarding of FIFA events, introducing criteria for human rights standards, anti-corruption, and environmental and social sustainability.
Increasing support for a reform commission
The recommendations come at a time when the call for an independent reform commission is gaining support among FIFA’s own sponsors.
Thursday, FIFA sponsor McDonald’s backed an independent reform commission in an e-mail to the FIFA reform campaign #NewFIFANow:
“In regards to your inquiry about an independent reform commission, we do believe this is an important step in the greater reform that has to happen within FIFA. An independent commission would bring an appropriate level of credibility, transparency, and neutrality to the role, and ultimately provide sponsors and fans across the globe with the confidence that the reform effort is both meaningful and a step in the right direction,” McDonald’s wrote.
Thereby, McDonald’s stands along with Coca-Cola and VISA as the third FIFA sponsor to support an independent reform commission.
“We applaud McDonald’s for joining with Coca-Cola and VISA. They understand just how vital it is that reform of FIFA is independent of the deep vested interests surrounding the organisation and its personnel,” the co-founder of #NewFIFANow Co-Founder, Jaimie Fuller, stated in a press release.
“It is now up to FIFA’s five other sponsors to join Coca-Cola, VISA and McDonald’s on the right side of history,” he said in a call to Adidas, Budweiser, Gazprom, Hyundai and Kia.