Independent governance committee challenges FIFA

A number of governance measures have been proposed to the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) by a newly formed independent governance committee warning the association of its weak anti-corruption controls.

Mark Pieth, a professor of criminology at the University of Basel who spearheads the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's bribery working group (OECD), was recently appointed to lead an independent multi-stakeholder committee to shed a crucial light on FIFA’s poor governance practices.

In the 36 page report to FIFA, Pieth criticizes some of the international soccer body’s existing practices that paved the way for a series of alleged corrupt practices that led to the dismissal of four executive committee members this year.

‘Good governance is good for business, whether you're a business or an international organization like FIFA, [and] when controls are missing, confidence erodes. The best and brightest people leave, or can't be attracted to join, and  everything starts on a downward spiral,’ says Richard Cassin, an FCPA expert. ‘Now people from outside FIFA are getting involved, so change might happen.’

These are some of the steps Pieth recommends in order for FIFA to emerge from its governance fiasco:

(i) Introduce term limits for executives such as the president

(ii) Consider electing independent members to join the main decision-making committee

(iii)  Introduce a conflict-of-interest law that can lead to the dismissal of officials

(iv) Establish a remuneration committee to set salaries for officials and senior staff

(v) Restrict the convergence of certain departments such as the finance and audit committees and the disciplinary and ethics committees.

In August, Transparency International (TI) released a report suggesting that an independent group of outsiders should be formed to ensure ‘good governance’ measures are implemented at the organization.  Earlier in the year, Chuck Blazer, the US member of the executive committee, turned in other officials for allegedly conspiring to purchase votes from Caribbean Football Union officials in a June 1 presidential election.