Reform advocacy group calls on FIFA to put past in order and advance

Two of the co-founders of FIFA reform advocacy group #NewFIFANow, United Kingdom MP Damian Collins and Skins Chairman Jaimie Fuller, have welcomed the publication of a book by the third co-founder, Bonita Mersiades, which gives an account of the 2018/2022 World Cup bidding process.

The book entitled Whatever It Takes: The Inside Story of the FIFA Way gives an ‘insider’ account of Football Federation Australia’s 2022 bid, of which Mersiades was a member, and also involves significant subsequent research and investigation.

Speaking at the launch of the book in the UK Houses of Parliament, Collins stated “as much as FIFA may want to consign the World Cup bidding process of 2018/2022 to history, it’s absolutely clear that there remains too much that is opaque.

“This is not about changing the decisions that were made about Russia and Qatar, but about shining a light on, and learning from, what went on and dealing with it properly. In other words, some genuine transparency.

“It is unacceptable that FIFA has failed to properly pursue the findings of its own investigation conducted by Michael Garcia, or demand of all the bidders from that contest that they cooperate.”

Fuller added that FIFA spent upwards of US$50 million on the Garcia Inquiry, released in June last year, yet very little has come of it.

He explained “Garcia could not compel witnesses or follow money trails, but he nonetheless found significant areas of wrongdoing into some bids – including the Australian bid. None of the bids, or the individuals associated with them, have been called to account.

“These people violated FIFA ethics rules, and brought the game into disrepute but nothing has happened.

“Instead, the only two people that Garcia’s report shamefully disparages are the two women regarded as whistleblowers, one of whom is Bonita.

“The book makes a compelling case for how these two women were falsely and inappropriately denigrated, not just in terms of what they said but in terms of the way they have been treated by international football officialdom.”

Collins said #NewFIFANow be calling on the world football governing body to:

• Reveal details of all broadcast and sponsorship contracts and the bonuses or ‘production contribution’ payments and their conditions involved, for the 2018, 2022 and 2026 World Cups. 
• Reveal the proportion of bonuses earned that is paid to staff or FIFA Council members. 
• Properly investigate the bids of Russia and Spain/Portgual.
• Properly pursue the findings of the Garcia Report.
• Make an unconditional apology to Mersiades and former Qatari football executive Phaedra Almajid. 

Collins said there are also some broader issues that need to be considered by governance experts and the football community, commenting “Bonita’s book makes it clear that ‘development’ is the elephant in the room of FIFA operations.

“While we note that some new processes have been introduced into FIFA, there is still not sufficient independence between the policies formulated by the football politicians and the decisions made on funding. We would like to see these funding decisions separated from the football politicians and in the hands of independent assessors and senior-level staff at FIFA."

Fuller added that there remains a need for fundamental structural reform at FIFA, advising “the way FIFA is organised, structured, and the voting process for positions of power, mean that too many people rely on staying in power by bestowing favours or turning a blind eye to what goes on.

“The book shows this to be the case in respect of the past, and there is absolutely nothing that has changed at FIFA that fixes this.”

Collins and Fuller said #NewFIFANow will also be recommending to FIFA that they conduct a stocktake of FIFA’s member associations and confederations on the extent to which they meet even the basic 2016 reforms.

Collins concluded “we congratulate Bonita on this book. It is extraordinarily courageous in light of all that she has already been through at the hands of FIFA as well as the local football federation in Australia.

“We stand with her in asking the fundamental question: what is FIFA going to do to ensure that none of this ever happens again.”

Main image: Bonita Mersiades with UK MP Damian Collins and Lord David Triesman, former Chairman of the Football Association, at the launch of Whatever It Takes: The Inside Story of the FIFA Way.

23rd January 2018 - BONITA MERSIADES: WHY I WROTE THE INSIDE STORY OF THE FIFA WAY

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9th July 2017 - ONGOING GOVERNANCE DISPUTE SEES FIFA THREATEN TO TAKE OVER RUNNING OF FOOTBALL FEDERATION AUSTRALIA

28th June 2017 - AUSTRALIA SLAMMED IN FIFA REPORT ON WORLD CUP BIDDING 

13th June 2017 - AUSTRALIA TO BID FOR FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP 2023 

30th January 2017 - A-LEAGUE CLUB OWNERS UNHAPPY AT FFA’S VISIT TO FIFA 

10th June 2015 - FOOTBALL FEDERATION AUSTRALIA TO CEASE BIDS FOR FIFA EVENTS UNTIL ‘OVERHAUL’ 

28th November 2012 - FIFA TO EXPAND BRIBERY CHARGES AGAINST MOHAMMED BIN HAMMAM 

22nd November 2012 - QATAR FACES FIFA WORLD CUP BID INVESTIGATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE CONSTRUCTION CHALLENGES 

6th November 2012 - SKINS FILES LAW SUIT AGAINST UCI OVER ARMSTRONG SCANDAL

29th August 2012 - INVESTIGATION INTO BIDDING PROCESS FOR FIFA 2018 AND 2022 WORLD CUPS

7th April 2011 - FFA DROPS WORLD CUP BID LIBEL ACTION

28th December 2010 - BBC REPORT BLASTS FFA’S ‘DIRTY’ WORLD CUP BID

3rd December 2010 - QATAR WINS 2022 WORLD CUP BID 

18th October 2010 - FIFA FACES CALL TO DELAY WORLD CUP BID VOTE AFTER CORRUPTION CLAIMS 

1st July 2010 - BUCKLEY DEFENDS AUSTRALIA’S FIFA WORLD CUP BID

27th January 2010 - APPOINTMENTS MADE TO AUSTRALIA’S WORLD CUP BID TEAM  

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