Open letter claims Fifa ‘more poorly governed than 10 years ago’ and calls on Fifa to ‘address key structural flaws’.
Fifa ‘more poorly governed today than 10 years ago’, open letter to organisation claims.
Football leaders have sent an open letter to FIFA arguing that the body is “arguably more poorly governed today than it was 10 years ago,” ten years after seven of its top officials were arrested on corruption allegations.
Non-governmental organisations, legal professionals, academics, and supporter groups have called on FIFA to “address the key structural flaws” at the heart of many of its governance issues, “most notably the deeply problematic power dynamic between the organization’s executive branch and its member associations,” in response to the anniversary of the arrests at the Baur au Lac hotel in Geneva.
The letter notes that while Fifa “redistributes a large proportion of the revenue it generates” to its member associations and confederations, “there is little verifiable evidence to show that the primary impact of this redistribution has been the development of the game, and considerable evidence to suggest its main purpose has been to ensure the loyalty and allegiance of member associations”. Such a model “disincentivises ethical conduct”, the letter says, and “precludes effective internal reform”.
When Gianni Infantino was elected president of FIFA after former president Sepp Blatter resigned and the Baur au Lac arrests occurred, he pledged to make significant reforms to the organization’s procedures.
We enter now a new era,” Infantino said in 2016. “We’ll restore the image of Fifa and make sure everybody will be happy with what we do.”
Instead, in 2025 there is discontent among stakeholders and outside observers over the way the world’s most popular sport is being run. “It is time to recognise that these reforms have failed to usher in a new era of responsible governance at Fifa and that the organisation is structurally unfit to govern world football,” the letter reads. “Fifa is arguably more poorly governed today than it was 10 years ago.”