By Andrew Warshaw and Paul Nicholson in Zurich
February 26 – Within minutes of being urged not to waste a one-off and essential opportunity to clean up their organisation of years of scandal and disgrace, FIFA’s global membership approved a radical new set of reform proposals by a huge majority today – but not with the unanimous backing the architects of the package might have wished for.
By 179 votes to 22, with six abstentions, FIFA’s member nations rubber-stamped measures that will include term limits of 12 years for senior officials, stricter integrity checks, more female representation, overhaul of the previously all-powerful executive committee that had been the root of so many of FIFA’s troubles, independent committee members and annually audited financial reports of all 209 federations.
Failure to approve the package would have been catastrophic given the stench of corruption and scandal that has brought FIFA to its knees. The vote came just a few hours before the ballot for a new FIFA president whose job it will now be, along with his senior staff, to make sure the reforms are properly implemented – and stick – and a period of transition.
Francois Carrard, the Frenchman who headed the reform committee that drew up the proposals, cautioned that it was only the beginning of a long process.
“It’s a tool for the new president to work with,” Carrard told Insideworldfootball.
“You can never get complete unanimity. Of course I would have liked 100 percent support but 89 percent isn’t bad and shows it was a democratic vote. It’s not over by a long way but it’s a starting place and sends the right message. I would have been very disappointed had it been refused.”
In a final presentation of the reforms to member associations Victor Montagliano, president of the Canadian FA and Constant Omari of Congo
ran thought the key proposals including:
– the creation of the FIFA council to replace the existing FIFA executive committee
– separation of ‘political’ and management functions: The FIFA Council will set the organisation’s strategic direction, while the General Secretariat oversees the operational and commercial business to execute that strategy.
– Term limits for the FIFA President, FIFA Council members and members of the Audit and Compliance Committee of three times four years (not consecutive)
– Election of Council members supervised by FIFA and in accordance with FIFA’s own electoral regulations
– all candidates to be subject to comprehensive eligibility and integrity checks conducted by an independent FIFA Review Committee.
– Greater recognition and promotion of women in football with a minimum of one female representative elected as a Council member per confederation; promotion of women as an explicit statutory objective of FIFA to create a more diverse decision-making environment and culture.
– Disclosure of individual compensation on an annual basis of the FIFA President, all FIFA Council members, the Secretary General and relevant chairpersons of independent standing and judicial committees.
– Enhanced control of money flows.
– Universal good governance principles for confederations and member associations to incorporate minimum provisions in their statutes to include commitment to human rights; neutrality in politics and religion; no discrimination; independent judicial bodies; avoidance of conflicts of interest; and, crucially, annual independent audits
– New Football Stakeholder Committee to ensure greater transparency and inclusion through broader stakeholder representation (including players, clubs and leagues).
Musa Bility, the Liberian federation chief who had threatened to disrupt proceedings by calling for the reform vote to come after that of the new president, in the end did not intervene. In his place, the Palestinian delegation argued it was too early to vote for implementation (after 60 days according to the rules) and that FIFA should have waited “until things have calmed down” and a new president was in place.
Bility told Insideworldfootball: “The Palestinians basically said the same as I would have done. I asked to speak two days ago but never got a reply. I voted against. Just wait and watch the new president pushing for amendments.”
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