FIFA, the governing body of world football, is not new to controversy and allegations. The UCI (International Cycling Union), another sports governing body, has also had its fair share of scandal, particularly in recent months. There are certain things going on in the UCI case that should have happened with FIFA that could have led to greater reform within the administration of the organisation.
The 1998 Presidential election, the 2001 collapse of marketing partner International Sport and Leisure, the 2018/2022 World Cup vote and the 2011 Presidential election; these are just some of the examples of how FIFA have made international headlines for the wrong reasons.
Just in the UK academic investigations, television documentaries, newspaper investigations and many more have broached the subject of FIFA and its controversies, providing insightful information and critical analysis. In spite of this, it could be argued that things at the top seem to have generally stayed the same.
But the UCI and its leadership appear to be in a much more threatening position. Since the case against Lance Armstrong was made public there have been numerous calls for those in charge to stand down, particularly over allegations of a cover-up of a positive drugs test.
The UCI are under a barrage of pressure at the moment, and two particular cases are worth noting here. Journalist Paul Kimmage, one of the leading writers in the anti-doping investigation, has filed a criminal action against UCI President Pat McQuaid and Honorary President Hein Verbruggen after they suspended their case against Kimmage in the wake of the Armstrong episode.
Further to this, a sports clothing company, Skins, which has been a partner in cycling, have also launched legal action against the UCI over the Armstrong case. The company has invested in a number of different areas of the sport and the chairman was cited in a statement saying they felt there had been a “betrayal of trust”.
These are extremely important steps because a governing body facing legal action is forced to address the issues at hand and cannot merely bat them away and ignore them. Something similar in the world of football could lead to the long called for transparency and accountability of FIFA.
Some of the evidence and findings from the investigations done need to be addressed away from the confines of a FIFA controlled press conference. There is a precedent; FIFA has faced legal proceedings before and a US District Judge has deemed that they broke a contract with a commercial partner in the past, although this was appealed and settled. In spite of the final outcome, this case put FIFA’s business dealings under great scrutiny.
There have been calls in the past for FIFA’s partners to pull the plug on them in an effort for reform; however were this to happen then there are a number of other companies that would seek to take their place and gain exposure. But if the partners and sponsors were to launch legal action against the governing body it may be a different story. After the issues surrounding the 2011 Presidential election there were murmurs of dissatisfaction from sponsors, but this went no further.
Of course, people could question the morals and ethics of some of these partners’ business strategies. But without the impetus of financial consequences, it may be difficult to implement widespread change within football’s governing body.
Arguably one of the reasons for the seeming lack of change comes down to the constant fluctuation in the amount of media reporting. There appears to be lots of attention at one point, but this does not continue in the same manner. Questions should always continue to be asked; scrutiny from outside is crucial for any sort of transparency.
So as what seems to be a laborious and time consuming process for accountability drags on, football fans across the world are left wondering what would have happened had FIFA come under the same pressure and threats as the UCI.
Daniel Smith – @dmsmith1987
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