FIFA reform - 2015 Congress resolution

Congress calls on the General Council to support a fundamental restructuring of FIFA leading to much greater player involvement in the overall governance of the game.

The recent developments and the ongoing investigations have highlighted the need to have much greater transparency and openness in the running of world football. Corruption and malpractice has been synonymous with FIFA but it is the current US-led FBI investigation that has been the real game changer.

Although such revelations are very damaging for football they also provide a unique opportunity to bring about a much-needed reform and overhaul. We have seen that the structures and workings of FIFA have supported and built up a corrupt culture with vast sums of money disappearing into private bank accounts to ensure votes are rigged and decisions are manipulated. The way forward must be to have more player control and to also reduce the career bureaucrats who see the game as a cash cow to exploit as they see fit.

We have seen that the process by which the World Cup hosts are chosen is fundamentally flawed and this has allowed workers rights in Qatar to be ignored.

The message from the FIFA scandal will resonate within the trade union movement because it is another example of impropriety at the heart of an organisation that dismisses the role of the worker and actively discourages their input. Congress, along with its international union colleagues, demands change and will not remain on the sidelines in this battle.