FIFA should postpone presidential election, embrace transparency, and fully investigate corruption allegations

Transparency International (TI), the anti-corruption organisation, is calling on FIFA, the governing body of world football, to postpone its presidential elections set for 1 June so that an independent investigation into all allegations of corruption against its executives can be carried out.

”Free and fair elections cannot take place when there is a suspicion that voters may have been swayed. Two major figures in football politics have been suspended recently for alleged vote-buying. FIFA delegates know that they must clean house if their vote is to have legitimacy,” said Sylvia Schenk, senior advisor on sport to TI.

“All eyes in world football are upon the FIFA delegates. FIFA should be setting a better example to its billions of supporters and especially to young fans that look to the sport for inspiration and role models,” said Schenk.

Because the proceedings of FIFA’s ethics committee have thus far been shrouded in secrecy, the investigation should be carried out externally to guarantee impartiality, transparency and accountability.

TI is calling for FIFA to:

• Bring in clear rules on how to deal with allegations of corruption, as well as transparent reporting and accounting rules
• Appoint an empowered ombudsman
• Launch a review of the existing code of ethics including the competences of the ethics committee
• Introduce compliance clauses for all contracts, including FIFA’s financial support for member federations
• Review the tender and awarding procedure of events as well as TV-rights and sponsorship contracts

Transparency International is the global civil society organisation leading the fight against corruption