Search
Close this search box.

FIFA elections – the future of integrity in football – all to play for…

FIFA elections – the future of integrity in football – all to play for…

How the ‘beautiful game’ and the world of sports governance needs to turn its back on ugly practices.

Rob Noble, Chief Executive of Internationally respected Leadership Trust; which has a growing array of sports clients such as the Olympic Council of Ireland, Commonwealth Games Scotland and the GB Women’s Olympic Hockey Team, writes that all eyes are on the FIFA shoot-out with today’s election of a new president, but longer term, governance across a spectrum of sports from tennis and darts to boxing and athletics is at stake as is the trust of a generation of sportsmen and women. Confidence is at an all-time low and sponsors are hanging up their boots against the world’s biggest sporting governing body. Many still remain unconvinced that an organisation that has been embroiled in corruption, allegations, indictments, backhand deals, and bribery can be transformed at the surge of an election.

As of today, suspensions for outgoing FIFA and UEFA bosses Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini, respectively, were reduced from eight to six years following their plea to the FIFA appeal’s committee. They both still protest their innocence and following allegations that lead back to the day Sepp Blatter took office in 1998, there was irony in the statements of both disgraced powerheads. Blatter said that he was “very disappointed by the appeal committee of FIFA” – the same committee that was accused by campaigners of overlooking the Brazilian’s transgressions for 18 years. Platini added that it was a “political decision” and “I am the victim of a system which has only had one goal – to stop me standing for the President of FIFA.” Very little sympathy from the public will reach two of the most powerful men in football for the last decade. A true fall from grace.

So what about the future? The election to find a different FIFA President after 18 years takes place today, Friday 26th February via a secret ballot of its 207 confederation members in Zurich. It has been a controversial 12 months for FIFA that has shaken the footballing industry to the core. This all comes down to today. 

Here’s the attacking line-up of candidates: 

Jerome Champagne – Former FIFA deputy general secretary

Prince Ali bin al-Hussein – former FIFA Vice President and President of Jordan Football Association, as well as founder and President of the West Asian Football Federation and former runner-up

Gianni Infantino – UEFA general secretary

Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa – FIFA Vice President and President of the Asian Football Confederation

Tokyo Sexwale – South African businessman and anti-apartheid campaigner

The elections have yet to take place and a new leader to take office, yet FIFA, as ever, is never far from arbitration. On Wednesday, two days before the vote, candidate Prince Ali bin al-Hussein was denied his appeal to have the election suspended on the grounds of requesting a fairer open ballot with the use of transparent voting booths. “I regret that the system let us down,” said the Jordanian. Words one would not expect from any FIFA President hopeful. However, he may yet hold the key depending on where his votes go under the transferred polling system.

Alongside Swiss Gianni Infantino, who wants to allow 40 nations to compete in World Cups, Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa is the current Bahraini Asian Football Confederation President and is most likely to take the helm at FIFA from tomorrow. However, there is little we know of this person other than his manifesto to separate FIFA into two entities for football and commercial operations. And there is a good reason for that. Nonsensical rules still implanted within FIFA disallow candidates from mentioning their competitors, allowing the Sheikh to duck public debates and not be interrogated about his humanitarian record or his legal dispute with London law firm Schillings.

Although bloc voting is not encouraged, the Asian Football Confederation was fully geared to back Michel Platini as Blatter’s successor, but his overnight arrest led to a scurry and a switch to plan B – to support Platini’s right-hand man at UEFA, Infantino, or to support the same man who rose to power under the guidance of Blatter, Sheikh Salman. Is this yet another two-horse race between the prodigies of Platini and Blatter?

In conjunction with a new President, FIFA will be discussing key reforms to be formalised at the extraordinary congress on Friday. These have understandably gone under the radar amongst the leadership debacle but arguably deliver more change than any one President can promise. They include a limit on the number of years a senior executive can remain in office, disclosure of officials’ salaries, a minimum quota of six women onto the 36-seat FIFA council and responsibility for everyday business decisions to be removed from ‘political’ representatives of national associations. These changes are vital to the existence of FIFA, as if the US Department of Justice believes the corporation is not doing enough to regulate itself, authorities can step in and act under US racketeering laws designed to tackle organised crime. The reforms have been championed by no other than interim President Issa Hayatou, who himself has been censured for accepting bribes for television and marketing rights and also accused of accepting a $1.5m (£1.1m) in favour of Qatar hosting the 2022 World Cup.

FIFA is in desperate need of a fresh face to regain the trust of football fans across the globe. Infantino and Sheikh Salman are mostly likely to be handed that job description later today. By bringing forward new leaders and offering a fresh face to the organisation, FIFA will finally have the opportunity after 18 years to resurrect the sportsmanship in football and instil some much needed integrity. Integrity is a key component of effective leadership and something we encourage our clients to demonstrate. We pursue this as part of a core belief that leadership is ‘using personal power to win hearts and minds to achieve a common purpose’ and this ethos forms the basis for programmes run by Leadership Trust experts including former Olympian Cath Bishop and Michael Cavanagh, Chair of Commonwealth Games Scotland.

As the votes begin to role in, we cannot help but cast our eye to the governance of our most powerful leaders around the world, can one person possess the resilience and aptitude to transform an organisation? Will philanthropic saviours such as Bernie Sanders becoming US President and leader of the Free World change politics in the West? Will Jeremy Corbyn’s election to 10 Downing Street put socialism at the heart of UK democracy? Will a new leader of the largest governing body of the largest sport change football? Will changing the man (yes, all men in contention in these cases) change governance? Whilst change in the status-quo shakes the core of any organisation, all these battles seem to submit more questions than solutions. 

Read more

Latest News

Read More

Expert tips for spring cleaning CV and career

29 March 2024

Newsletter

Receive the latest HR news and strategic content

Please note, as per the GDPR Legislation, we need to ensure you are ‘Opted In’ to receive updates from ‘theHRDIRECTOR’. We will NEVER sell, rent, share or give away your data to third parties. We only use it to send information about our products and updates within the HR space To see our Privacy Policy – click here

Latest HR Jobs

University of Warwick – WMGSalary: £23,144 to £25,138 per annum

The Open University – People ServicesSalary: £57,696 to £64,914 + up to £8,000 per annum MRP supplement*

Cardiff UniversitySalary: Competitive

University of Oxford – Oxford Department of International DevelopmentSalary: £28,759 to £33,966 (Grade 5)

Read the latest digital issue of theHRDIRECTOR for FREE

Read the latest digital issue of theHRDIRECTOR for FREE