FIFA: curing a crisis of integrity

As the big clubs of European football take to the field this August, the crisis at the heart of world football continues to fester. The controversies that shadowed the decision on which countries would host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups and the presidential elections of football's world governing body FIFA have not gone away. Although fans are once again captivated by the action in the stadiums, FIFA's focus this season must be to demonstrate its commitment to fair play both on and off the pitch.

Sport not only affords billions of people a chance to have fun and keep fit, but also sets a positive example on the importance of rules, fair play and respect. As the world's most popular sport, football has a special opportunity to spread these values among its many fans, players, clubs and institutions. If FIFA takes steps to enhance integrity, that good practice can have global reverberations.

We have drawn up recommendations to help FIFA undertake fundamental change and regain trust in the aftermath of recent controversies. The recommendations draw on our long experience in advising governments, businesses and organisations that seek to be more accountable, as well as tools we’ve developed to strengthen organisational integrity and reduce opportunities for corruption. Taken together, these approaches can bring more transparency to world football.

A crisis of integrity in world football governance

FIFA is facing a crisis of integrity, with current corruption allegations surrounding the organisation’s recent presidential election and the selection of host countries for FIFA’s most high-profile event, the World Cup.

On 23 July, FIFA’s Ethics Committee suspended one member of its Executive Committee, Mohammed Bin Hammam, over allegations of bribery ahead of the 1 June 2011 FIFA presidential elections, in which he was a candidate. Another member of the Executive Committee resigned before his role in the allegations was examined. An investigation into which members of the FIFA Congress – encompassing representatives of all 208 national football federations – accepted or were offered bribes has just been started.

Bribery allegations have also been reported regarding several other senior FIFA figures, related to the selection of host countries for the 2018 and 2022 football World Cups. Two then active members of the Executive Committee were suspended in November 2010, as well as two former members of the Executive Committee and two other officials.

Making transparency a priority

To respond to all these allegations – new ones as well as old ones – in an adequate way and to convince the public that FIFA is really willing to change will not be possible without outside oversight.

Transparency International recommends that FIFA accept a group made up of representatives of various groups with a stake in the game that can oversee reforms such as:

• Tackling all outstanding corruption allegations in a sufficient manner through an independent investigation led by a professional firm
• Establishing clear rules for dealing with future allegations of corruption, including whistleblower protections, empowering the Ethics Committee to launch investigations in the future, and publishing lists of breaches and sanctions
• Reviewing FIFA’s code of ethics and organisational structure, and introducing new procedures that ensure transparency and good governance:
• term limits for senior positions
• a conflict of interest policy
• having external figures sit on committees where there are corruption risks, such as the Ethics Committee or committees selecting World Cup host countries
• Expanding reporting beyond financial data to include implementation of anti-corruption policies.

An independent body: from words to action

How can we be sure that an organisation’s commitment to transparency and accountability will lead to action? An oversight group made up of multiple stakeholders can serve both as a witness that genuine change is taking place and as a powerful defence for an organisation that faces accusations or distrust. Such a group can take different views into account, give a voice to all those who have a stake in the sport and dramatically reduce opportunities for misconduct.

The multi-stakeholder group would advise, not answer to FIFA, and should be composed of figures of unquestionable integrity, such as people with good governance experience from the private sector, civil society and international organisations. It should also include representatives of the world of football such as federations, professional clubs/leagues, FIFA sponsors, players, referees, women’s football and supporters. The composition, as well as the scope and approach of the multi-stakeholder group, need to ensure its independence from FIFA.

Multi-stakeholder groups at work

FIFA faces unique challenges as a non-governmental, not-for-profit organisation under Swiss private law with a huge turnover (US$ 1.29 billion revenue and US$ 1.09 billion expenses in 2010) comparable to a large global company. Each step will require innovation and the multi-stakeholder group will be crucial in bringing expertise from different fields into the process.

This type of oversight group is much like parliamentary enquiries that are often formed to respond to political scandals, but there are also examples in the world of sport and commerce. The International Olympic Committee created a reform panel in 2000 and endorsed nearly 50 of its recommendations for reshaping the organisation in the wake of the bribery scandal that surrounded the selection of Salt Lake City as host of the 2002 Winter Olympics.

Defence and aerospace firm BAE Systems appointed a former judge to delve into its operations following a corruption scandal, and agreed to abide by whatever outcome was recommended in the resulting 2008 Woolf Report.

The Partnering Against Corruption Initiative, driven by World Economic Forum and including leading multinational companies from the extractive and construction sectors, commits companies to a zero-tolerance policy on bribery and the development of a programme to make that commitment a reality.

Similarly, entire sectors have come together to make commitments to greater integrity, transparency and oversight. Oil, gas and mining companies have joined governments in disclosing payments for exploration and production rights under the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). Under the initiative, governments from 35 resource-rich countries have published revenues from oil, gas and mining firms, who in turn publish their payments to governments.

Our track record: realising commitments to integrity

Transparency International has a track record of working with other bodies to facilitate integrity initiatives. One broad example is the UN Global Compact, with some 8000 participants including 6000 companies making it the world’s largest corporate citizenship and sustainability initiative. Transparency International worked with the Global Compact to develop and jointly publish anti-corruption guidelines to assist Global Compact participants in reporting on their commitments to the 10th Global Compact principle on corruption.

The guidelines were prepared by a task force co-chaired by Transparency International and comprising businesses, NGOs and anti-corruption experts, and were successfully field tested by 19 multinational organisations around the world.

Tools for transparency: tackling bribery

Transparency International’s goal in working with the private sector is to change company behaviour by developing and raising the standards of practice in countering bribery. Since their initial publication in 2003, the Business Principles for Countering Bribery have been used by many leading companies around the world to benchmark their own anti-bribery policies and procedures.

Our Integrity Pacts are another tool for combating bribery. These pacts use independent experts or civil society groups to oversee anti-corruption accords in which public officials and companies bidding on a public tender sign up to a legally binding no-bribe agreement, with sanctions for any who breaks it.

In the past 10 years, Integrity Pacts have resulted in the increased accountability of public resources in hundreds of contracts in more than 15 countries, from natural resources to water and sanitation companies. Integrity Pacts are also well suited to the construction sector, as exemplified by the case of Berlin’s new international airport, and can therefore be effective in countries upgrading their infrastructure in preparation to host the FIFA World Cup, such as Brazil.

Resources

Safe Hands: Building Integrity and Transparency at FIFA

Press release – Independent group should oversee FIFA reform: Willingness to change must translate into swift action

Our blog posts about football's integrity crisis

More examples of Integrity Pacts

Media coverage

Wall Street Journal: High Tide: From A Hospital Executive On Trial To New FIFA Accusations

World Soccer: 10 stories you need to read, August 16th

Eurosport: FIFA urged to open up

Daily Mail: FIFA hit by another leadership crisis as investigation begins into Ricardo Teixeira

The Mirror: Anti-corruption organisation urges FIFA to 'prove its commitment to transparency and accountability'

Handelsblatt: Transparency International fordert Strukturreform

Ouest France: Fifa-Corruption: "Un réseau de vieux copains"

So Foot: La FIFA scrutée

France Football: Transparancy préconise des réformes à la Fifa

Newswires

Reuters: FIFA reforms not enough, says corruption watchdog

Associated Press: Anti-corruption group advises FIFA on reforms

Agence France Presse: Corruption watchdog urges FIFA to reform

EFE: Transparencia Internacional pide que una comisión independiente supervise la reforma de la FIFA

DPA: Transparency fordert Kommission zur FIFA-Kontrolle

Radio

BBC Radio report: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/p00jf3z9 (at 3:30, until 5:50)

BBC Mundo: Las medidas anticorrupción en la FIFA "no son suficientes"

World Radio Swtizerland: Independent corruption monitoring group needed for FIFA, watchdog says

Blogs and organisations

FIFA: FIFA acknowledges report by TI

Play the Game: New report from Transparency International calls for innovative reforms in FIFA

The Least Thing: Transparency International on FIFA Reform: A New Report