January 23 – As part of its reform process to streamline its top-heavy bureaucracy, save costs and respond to the worst crisis in its history, FIFA has slashed the number of standing committees from 26 to nine.
Pierluigi Collina, who refereed the 2002 World Cup final, will head up the referees’ committee while CONCACAF boss Victor Montagliani will head the new football stakeholders committee, perhaps the most important of all the nine since it includes leagues and clubs, and will have a direct say in club versus country issues.
Former Brazil international Cafu, English Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore and his Bundesliga counterpart Christian Seifert are among the members who will hold their first meeting in March.
FIFA says the football stakeholders body will deal with “the relationship between clubs, players, leagues, member associations, confederations and FIFA as well as with issues relating to the interests of club football worldwide.”
Alejandro Dominguez, head of CONMEBOL, is the new head of FIFA’s finance committee which is bound to come under continued scrutiny. He takes over from long-time African football chief Issa Hayatou and in preference to former Manchester United CEO and finance director David Gill. Gill has likely paid the political price of, intentionally or not, having some of his thoughts on the new FIFA administration and its modus operandi made public.
Altogether five confederation bosses have been appointed as committee chairmen, including Asian Football Confederation president Shaikh Salman who continues as heads the new development committee.
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