The FIFA Reform: News & Analysis

Discussion in 'FIFA and Tournaments' started by Nico Limmat, Jun 1, 2011.

  1. Nico Limmat

    Nico Limmat Member+

    Oct 24, 1999
    Dubai, UAE
    Club:
    Grasshopper Club Zürich
    Nat'l Team:
    Switzerland
    So let's review the FIFA reform points of action:

    - Congress to vote on future WC hosts. If I understood correctly FIFA will also no longer award more than one WC at a time.

    - Congress to elect the members of the ethics committee, a supposedly independent body of the FIFA administration.

    - A “solution Commission” to investigate any charge against FIFA and if necessary may convene an extraordinary congress.

    Apparently Blatter is planning a one-day extraordinary congress to tackle the corruption issues raised presently. If they don't look at Qatar none of this is going away.
     
  2. Sicilia

    Sicilia Member

    Sep 18, 2010
    Club:
    Calcio Catania
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
  3. superdave

    superdave Member+

    Jul 14, 1999
    VB, VA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Re: Fifa bribery inquiry into Bin Hammam & Warner

    Holy shit, I can't believe it!!! FIFA keeps one upping itself with comedy!!!

    Kissinger was one of the slimiest men of the 20th century. Jesus Christ, Sepp, I guess Pol Pot wasn't available?
     
  4. england66

    england66 Member+

    Jan 6, 2004
    dallas, texas
    Re: Fifa bribery inquiry into Bin Hammam & Warner

    Just gets better and better...Kissinger is almost 90....
     
  5. M

    M Member+

    Feb 18, 2000
    Via Ventisette
    Re: Fifa bribery inquiry into Bin Hammam & Warner

    ... and is apparently Blatter's buddy.

    I can't help think of the mafia when Blatter & Co drone on about "keeping it in the football family".
     
  6. GiuseppeSignori

    Jun 4, 2007
    Chicago
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Re: Fifa bribery inquiry into Bin Hammam & Warner

    And his countless references to the "FIFA pyramid" makes me think of this...

    [​IMG]
     
  7. Jeddy Rasp

    Jeddy Rasp Member

    Feb 10, 2007
    out to lunch
    Re: Fifa bribery inquiry into Bin Hammam & Warner

    Just loved Blatters rant about "steadying ships shaped like pyramids" or somesuch..
     
  8. Naughtius Maximus

    Jul 10, 2001
    Shropshire
    Club:
    Chelsea FC
    Nat'l Team:
    England
    Re: Fifa bribery inquiry into Bin Hammam & Warner

    What... a WHOLE day??? :D
    :D
     
  9. Nico Limmat

    Nico Limmat Member+

    Oct 24, 1999
    Dubai, UAE
    Club:
    Grasshopper Club Zürich
    Nat'l Team:
    Switzerland
    Up next should be a term limit for the President (the IOC has 12 years) and an age limit for the Executive Committe. No more senile old men spouting nonsense...
     
  10. Sicilia

    Sicilia Member

    Sep 18, 2010
    Club:
    Calcio Catania
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Spot on.
     
  11. Nico Limmat

    Nico Limmat Member+

    Oct 24, 1999
    Dubai, UAE
    Club:
    Grasshopper Club Zürich
    Nat'l Team:
    Switzerland
  12. mfw13

    mfw13 Member+

    Jul 19, 2003
    Seattle
    Club:
    Newcastle United FC
    What reform?

    The proposal to have every member of FIFA vote on WC hosting decision does nothing to address the corruption issue...it just increases the number of countries in play for potential bribery.

    Those of us from bigger countries who care primarily about the WC have to remember that most member nations of FIFA couldn't care less where the WC is held since they have virtually no chance at qualifying (only 52 different countries out of FIFA's 207 members have qualified for any of the past three World Cups, i.e. about 25% of its membership). Getting funds from FIFA to help develop the game in their countries and/or to line their own pockets is much more important to them than who gets to host the WC, which means that there will be even more bribery and vote-buying taking place, not less.
     
  13. Nico Limmat

    Nico Limmat Member+

    Oct 24, 1999
    Dubai, UAE
    Club:
    Grasshopper Club Zürich
    Nat'l Team:
    Switzerland
    The question is what is the alternative?

    People complain about the equality of voting rights between England and Fiji, but I've yet to see a good alternative (and I for question if a voting categorization is desirable in the long run.) Bicameral is all good and fine but who takes the ultimate decision?

    And where do you differentiate? Population? Tradition?
     
  14. City Dave

    City Dave Member

    Jan 26, 2007
    Cleveland, OH
    Club:
    Cleveland C. S.
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Why not both? This is really just a creative exercise because it'll never happen. But you could easily give each fed a certain number of votes simply for existing. You could then have a certain number of categories based on population, just like the Pot system for draws. Each fed would get a certain number of votes based on which pot they were in. You could do the same thing for their achievements in past world cups or rankings or however you wish. You could even do one for longevity, how long they've been members. In that way you could have each fed with a number of votes from say 5 to 50 or whatever they would decide. The small feds with short FIFA histories would still have some power, while the larger older ones would have more. It would be a delicate balance to arrange. And it still wouldn't eliminate corruption.

    And, like I said, it doesn't really matter because it will never happen.
     
  15. BSGuy321

    BSGuy321 Member

    Sep 2, 2008
    Agree. There is no easy answer here. And there is no way to eradicate corruption completely no matter what the procedure.

    The way you tackle it imo is a strong code of ethics (especially re giving a bribe or taking one), a personal code of conduct, a completely independent and professional ethics committee (lawyers&judges), stiff punishments, and protection for whistle-blowers. And stiff punishment for anyone who knows about a bribe and doesn't report it (Acts of Ommission).

    Only way to minimize it. Will never be able to eradicate it.
     
  16. Makandal

    Makandal Member

    Apr 21, 2007
    Cambridge, MA (USA)
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    Haiti
    So practically, FIFA voting for the WC hosting rights should not be a democratic process as many critics has asked for, but a "rich men club" selection? Funny how when democracy doesn't seem to work in some people's favor, they dismiss it as a bigger chance of corruption.
     
    Unak78 repped this.
  17. Chastaen

    Chastaen Member+

    Alavés
    Jul 9, 2004
    Winnipeg
    Club:
    Aston Villa FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    That's because FIFA isn't a democracy.
     
  18. Nico Limmat

    Nico Limmat Member+

    Oct 24, 1999
    Dubai, UAE
    Club:
    Grasshopper Club Zürich
    Nat'l Team:
    Switzerland
    I think the moment you start telling member associations that some will be "better" henceforth (i.e. more influential) you open a giant can of worms. The right way to go about this is the following:
    PS: It seems Johan Cruyff will also be part of the Solutions Committee
     
    Unak78 repped this.
  19. City Dave

    City Dave Member

    Jan 26, 2007
    Cleveland, OH
    Club:
    Cleveland C. S.
    Nat'l Team:
    United States

    How is giving an association with 18,000 people the same voting power as an association with 1.3 billion democratic?
     
  20. Makandal

    Makandal Member

    Apr 21, 2007
    Cambridge, MA (USA)
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    Haiti
    Yes, exactly. They're a private organization, not a country. My point is people have been clamoring for them to go that route like the IOC (allow all members to vote rather than a select few). Now they will be criticized for going that route, because obviously Fiji/Andorra and England/Spain voting powers are equal and obviously that is not in the interests of the powers of football. Yet that is the right thing to do in a totally neutral and fair sense. Will that eliminate possible corruption? Not at all, just like going that route didn't eliminate corruption in the IOC contrary to what has been said lately.
     
  21. superdave

    superdave Member+

    Jul 14, 1999
    VB, VA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Agreem City Dave. I'm really tired of stupid posts like Makandal gives. It's like he doesn't even know what "democracy" means.

    But the thing is, he DOES know what democracy means. He's just regurgitating something he read somewhere without thinking. And that's really old now.
     
  22. City Dave

    City Dave Member

    Jan 26, 2007
    Cleveland, OH
    Club:
    Cleveland C. S.
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    That's your opinion and not a statement of fact.

    One could say that it's simply an arbitrary awarding of votes to areas that by accidents of history divided themselves into separate entities as opposed to uniting to form larger governments.

    I admit that I gave pretty much the most extreme example but I just crunched the numbers and a resident of Turks and Caicos has over 70,000 times the representation in FIFA as does someone from the Peoples Republic of China. That's absurd.
     
  23. Rougue1987

    Rougue1987 New Member

    May 25, 2011
    Fitchburg, MA, USA
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Forget about how votes are taken for the moment. The best way to push reform through FIFA is to make FIFA answerable to some independent body who could take real action against FIFA, such as removing FIFA officials from their positions. If this were done, and this independent body were run by ethical people, FIFA would change very quickly.
     
  24. Rickdog

    Rickdog Member+

    Jun 16, 2010
    Santiago, Chile
    Club:
    CD Colo Colo
    Nat'l Team:
    Chile
    The problem with this, is once you establish the independent body, you`ll need another independent body with independence from the former one in order to take actions against those in the independent body that controls FIFA, if someone in it also gets corrupted. :p

    Story made short, it would require a "never ending story" of independent bodies controlling each other and at the end, as it would still depend on private entities, we would still be seeing corrupt activity within world football, as it has always existed, when money distribution and personal self interest gets into this equation.:mad:
    :(
     
  25. Rougue1987

    Rougue1987 New Member

    May 25, 2011
    Fitchburg, MA, USA
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Well, hold on, lets forget about ending corruption, because it's never going to happen. As long as corruptible people seek power, there will always be corruption. The thing is, that doesn't mean the end result has to be bad.

    For example, look at the USA federal government. Clearly, there have been and are corrupt officials everywhere, but that doesn't mean the government is a mockery like FIFA is. Quite to the contrary, it just seems to ... work.

    This is because the Founding Fathers of the USA knew that to rely on ethical people to always be in positions of power was very wishful thinking. So they created a system that uses the selfish aims of ambitious and/or corrupt officials and channel it in a way that actually means the whole works ... well, not great, but just works.

    If we could do the same with FIFA, that would solve a lot of problems then and there.
     

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