FIFABy David Owen
October 9 – The most powerful administrator in world sport has added his voice to the mounting clamour for far-reaching reform at FIFA.
With the focus of global attention lurching away from the increasingly farcical electoral process itself to the entrenchment of real change at football’s discredited governing body, Thomas Bach, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) President, has unleashed a strongly-worded call to action.
“Enough is enough,” the football-loving former fencing champion proclaimed in a statement. “We hope that now, finally, everyone at FIFA has at last understood that they cannot continue to remain passive.
“They must act swiftly to regain credibility because you cannot forever dissociate the credibility of FIFA from the credibility of football.”
He went on: “FIFA must realise that this is now about more than just a list of candidates. This is also a structural problem and will not be solved simply by the election of a new President.
“They must do two things immediately: they must accelerate and deepen the reform process in order to comply with accountability, transparency and all the principles of good governance….
“They should also be open for a credible external presidential candidate of high integrity, to accomplish the necessary reforms and bring back stability and credibility to FIFA..”
FIFA’s statutes render the path of any “external” candidate far from straightforward, since they insist that Presidential runners must have played an active recent role in football.
Meanwhile, the European Club Association (ECA) has made its pitch for involvement in any reforms, insisting that future governance of the game “must” include the active engagement and leadership of clubs if it is to be effective and stable.
“As an inherent part of world football, clubs need to play a central role in this reform process alongside other stakeholders,” the ECA said in a statement. “The outcome must be the emergence of a new governance model, which is democratic, transparent, accountable and inclusive and in which clubs occupy a position that reflects their critical contribution to the game.
“The recent changes made to the UEFA governance model show clubs playing a more active role in football governance and support club involvement in any future reform at FIFA level.”
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