Fédération Internationale de Football Association Background Guide. Chair: Aidan Landen Crisis Director: Jaina Mehta

Transcription

1 Fédération Internationale de Football Association Background Guide Chair: Aidan Landen Crisis Director: Jaina Mehta

2 Dear Delegates, It is an honor to invite you to the 21st Virginia International Crisis Simulation, the University of Virginia s annual collegiate Model United Nations conference. VICS XXI will be held at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville from March 31 to April 3, VICS offers nineteen innovative and interactive crisis committees, both historical and contemporary. We are committed to expanding the scope of what a crisis committee can do. As I write this letter in early November, our chairs are crafting their committees around topics ranging from the Space Race of the 1950s to a Summit of the American Gun Lobby. We are committed to expanding the scope of what a crisis committee can do, especially in our famous ad-hoc, the Secretary General s Good Offices, and in our pilot ad-hoc, the Directors General's Good Offices. I can think of no better setting for the conference than the Grounds of the University of Virginia. VICS provides you with opportunities to interact with the University s rich history and with the many resources it has to offer. For example, on Friday morning, VICS encourages delegates to explore Charlottesville. VICS offers a series of tours of the city's attractions. These events extend discussion outside of committee and they give you the chance to meet members of the International Relations Organization and of the university community. We also invite you to explore Charlottesville, one of the country s most exciting college towns. VICS hosts four social events in the city, which take you beyond a typical Model UN experience and provide opportunities to get to know delegates outside of committee. I look forward to welcoming you to the University of Virginia and Charlottesville in March. If you have any questions, please reach out to me or the Chargé d Affaires, Leah Day, atvics.charge@gmail.com or by phone at (703) Sincerely, Michael Treves Secretary General VICS XXI

3 Dear Delegates, As your Chair and Crisis Director, we are honored with the privilege to work with and serve brilliant individuals such as yourselves. We can t wait to meet each and every one of you and see how your individual skill sets and vision will influence this sure to be exciting committee. With that being said, we aim to create a committee experience like none other, providing a platform for creativity, ingenuity, and personal growth. Over our committee sessions, we hope to challenge and test you in ways that will not only lead to a memorable Model UN experience, but also help you learn about your own strengths and weaknesses as a delegate. From you we ask for nothing but the utmost respect for your fellow delegate in hopes of fostering an environment of collaboration and openness. While the structure and setting of this committee may appear orthodox, we expect your methods and ideas to be anything but, challenging the groundwork of a traditional Model UN experience. In the time leading up to our first meeting, not only should you become scholars in the fields discussed, but we also hope you stretch your creative abilities to new heights. We take confidence in the fact that this experience will be a rewarding one for us all, and we are counting down the days until March, as we hope you are too. If you have any questions regarding the background guide or other information about the committee do not hesitate to contact us at al5qd@virginia.edu and jkm3eq@virginia.edu, or the Director General for this committee, Carter Bakkum, at vics.directorgeneral@gmail.com. Much Love, Your Chair and Crisis Director, Aidan and Jaina

4 Committee Overview Comrades, as your newly elected president of FIFA, I know as well as any of you that our organization has been shrouded in controversy and scandal as of late. This seed of wrongdoing was planted decades ago, and today FIFA sits on a throne of internationally recognized corruption. It is clear that we need to realign ourselves with the purpose and core values of FIFA if we want to get back on the right track and save the integrity of the beautiful game. That is why today, March 26 th, 2016, we have called into effect the 2016 FIFA Extraordinary Congress, the fifth ever of its kind. Deep discussion and diplomacy is needed urgently to stop FIFA s fall from grace, and this will be a session for the history books as nothing is off limits. Every aspect of FIFA must be called into scrutiny if we seek to stop this corruption for good. The duration of this session is deemed indefinite, meaning that we will not adjourn until absolute resolution is reached. It is of utmost importance that this resolution is aligned with the FIFA code of Ethics and Mission Statement. To ensure that our course of action takes into account global interest, I have made the special accommodation for several select world leaders, businessmen, and other important figures to join us in our session today. Following my election at the sixth-ever Extraordinary Congress on February 26 th, 2016, the executive committee and I have deemed it necessary to first put into effect significant reform. Please remain patient as we navigate through these turbulent times. The Congress is to follow standard crisis committee procedure and structure. Each delegate will receive the same privilege as any member association representative. We open the floor to open discussion and debate and will vote on directives, communiqués, and procedural processes as deemed necessary and appropriate.

5 Directives will be sought on both an individual and collaborative scale, at both the local and global stages. Among the most pressing decisions that need to be made in the opening stages of this congress is whether or not to release the full Garcia Report. While I know none of you know what the report contains, releasing the document regardless of what it contains may be our best bet at regaining the trust of the public and adopting a new sense of transparency. The Founding of FIFA Football has come a long way since its first laws were drawn up in London in In 1904, The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) was founded in the rear of the headquarters of the Union Française de Sports Athlétiques in Paris. 1 The foundation act was signed by the authorized representatives of the following associations: USFSA (France), UBSSA (Belgium), DBU (Denmark), NVB (Netherlands), Madrid Football Club (Spain), SBF (Sweden), and ASF (Switzerland). Even at the beginning there were thoughts of starting an international competition (The World Cup) and Article 9 stipulated that FIFA alone was entitled to take over the organization of such an event. 2 The Structure of FIFA FIFA is comprised of 209 member associations belonging to six separate confederations including the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), Confédération 1 History of FIFA - Foundation. (n.d.). Retrieved February 24, Explore FIFA- Who We Are. (n.d.). Retrieved February 24, 2016.

6 Africaine de Football (CAF), Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF), Confederación Sudamericana du Fútbol (CONMEBOL), Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), Union des Associations Européenes de Football (UEFA), all of which organize their own programs and tournaments, and help to organize their member associations. At the top of the FIFA hierarchy is the president, who is elected every four years by the FIFA congress and can be reelected indefinitely. The FIFA congress is composed of one representative from each member association and is tasked with deciding on rule amendments, statues, and the annual FIFA report. 3 It is important to note that this congress only meets once year, and while additional sessions can be called into effect by the FIFA Executive Committee, this special procedure has only been done five times in the history of the association. When the congress is not in session, this Executive Committee maintains all decision-making power, and is made up of the President, a General Secretary (who serves as the president s deputy), 8 Vice Presidents, and 15 members. The election process for each member of this committee is similar to that of the president. FIFA also has 22 standing committees, each of which specializes in one of three general areas: FIFA tournaments, rules of the game, and corporate and administrative duties. 4 The membership is determined by the Executive Committee and consists of a chairman, a deputy chairman, and general members. The final governing entity of FIFA is the Judicial Branch, which is made up of the Disciplinary Committee, the Appeal Committee, and the Ethics Committee. 3 Larkin, B. (2013). The Structure and Policies of FIFA. Retrieved February 24, Governance - How FIFA Works. (n.d.). Retrieved February 24, 2016.

7 The Ethics Committee is responsible for watching over the entire football community and helping to tackle illegal activities. Under the Code of Ethics, disciplinary sanctions can be imposed on offending officials, players, players agents and match agents. Intricate Indictments FIFA began its hasty fall from grace on May 27th, In the wake of the Garcia Report controversy, a 2014 investigatory report commissioned by FIFA into allegations of corruption in the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 world cups that never saw the light of day, and the ensuing FBI investigation, The United States Department of Justice unleashed a 47-count indictment charging 14 football and marketing officials. On the same day they arrested multiple high-ranking FIFA officials in a hotel in Zurich, Switzerland, where the current FIFA headquarters is located. It would also be revealed that four other men with ties to FIFA had previously pleaded guilty to charges of corruption, one of them being Chuck Blazer, an American serving on the FIFA executive border, who would later prove to be a pivotal whistle blower. 5 In December 2015, following the arrest of two FIFA vice-presidents in Zurich, 16 more officials were charged. Among the chargers was the involvement in criminal schemes involving well over $200 million in bribes and kickbacks. The following is a graphic including all indictments to this day: 5 Ruiz, R. R., Apuzzo, M., & Borden, S. (2015, December 03). FIFA Corruption: Top Officials Arrested in Pre-Dawn Raid at Zurich Hotel. Retrieved February 24, 2016.

8 Bribery and Debauchery Amongst the most significant of Chuck Blazer s confessions was that he and other members of the FIFA Executive committee accepted bribes for the selection of South Africa to host the 2010 World Cup. It was revealed in an that then South African

9 president Thabo Mbeki had an agreement with shamed former FIFA president Sepp Blatter to pay the governing body $10 million US dollars in return for the hosting rights for the celebrated global tournament. 6 The South African government alleges that the payment was legitimate, however Swiss authorities believe otherwise and there is an ongoing investigation into the matter. Other significant bribes were also received in connection with hosting privileges and marketing/broadcasting rights of previous World Cups and other tournaments under the FIFA umbrella, such as the CONCACAF Gold Cup. According to US officials, over $150 million in bribes were paid off by sporting executives in the Americas to FIFA for media and marketing rights of international football tournaments. Jérôme Valcke, the Secretary General of FIFA, Blatter s top deputy, and a central figure in the South African bribery scandal, was even found to have been involved in a scheme to sell World Cup tickets on the black market for personal profit. He has since been suspended and ultimately fired by FIFA. The Curious Case of Mr. Blatter FIFA s Infamous eighth President, Sepp Blatter, first won presidency in 1998 and, despite allegations of bribery and general shadiness since the get go, has been reelected four times. Notably, Mr. Blatter was reelected for his latest term on May 29 th, 2015, just two days after the initial indictments, proving too popular for his sole opponent. Just three days later, however, Mr. Blatter announced that he would soon step down as FIFA president following the revelation that he too was under 6 Liu, Y. (2013). Assessing the Long-term Economic Impacts of the World Cup as Mega-sport Event. Retrieved February 24, 2016.

10 investigation for corruption charges (something that surprised no one). 7 On September 25 th, it would be revealed that Swiss authorities were investigating two transactions centered around Mr. Blatter that would infer corruption, one of which being the South Africa bribe and the other involving then UEFA president Michel Platini. The latter transaction would lead to the eight-year ban of both men from world football. Equal Representation Despite varying levels of influence and size of each footballing nation belonging to FIFA, each member association is only allowed one member of congress and therefore only one vote for president. This allots the same influence on the shape and direction of FIFA to Germany as it does to say the tiny Chinese territory of Macau. This means that delegates representing the Caribbean, Central America, Asia, and Africa outnumber those of the United States, Canada, Europe, South America, and the Oceanic region by 133 to 76. However, in the last ten world cups, six winners and seven runner-ups have come from Europe, with the remaining finalists having come from South American nations. Blatter was known to appeal to the less football-prominent, yet representative majority contingency, initially running on a platform of enhancing football specifically in Africa and Asia, and bringing the World Cup to these continents in 2002 and While football in Africa and Asia has always been a call of concern by many involved in the sport and it is unclear whether Blatter s intensions were pure, there is no doubting that this platform inherently gives Blatter the advantage of numbers, which many have suggested has given him the upper hand in the last five elections and attributed to 7 Green, C., & Peck, T. (2015, May 30). Fifa President Sepp Blatter issues defiant warning to opponents: 'I forgive everyone, but I don't forget' Retrieved February 24, 2016.

11 corruption such as the South African scandal. Perhaps equal representation in FIFA congress is the best way for smaller, less-historic footballing nations to increase their chances at international success and to level the playing field of a Euro-South American dominated football scene, but is this fair to powerhouse nations who generate more money and interest for FIFA than anyone else? Limiting Corruption and Power With FIFA representing such large-scale and diverse interest of sport, culture, and business, it s not difficult to see how easily convicted officials, agents, and executives were led to their path of criminal debauchery. The World Cup alone draws the largest television ratings of any event and generates billions of dollars for its host nations and commercial partners. This doesn t even include smaller Confederation run events that draw less of a watching eye and public scrutiny. By simply electing an official or selecting a host nation, FIFA can change the fabric of global economics and shape history for many years. For example, South Korea experienced a significant economic boom following their hosting of the 2002 World Cup. On a smaller scale, FIFA also holds tremendous influence over individual awards and player perception. For example, leading into the 2013 FIFA Balon d Or, a prestigious award given to the best player in world football and voted for by football figures, politicians and players alike, Mr. Blatter took a dig at Ronaldo comparing him to a soldier and praised Messi. The two players were finalists and expected frontrunners for the award. After Ronaldo won the award, the national team coach of Qatar revealed that he was told to vote for Ronaldo in order to help Blatter clean up his image. Such perception of a player cannot only influence person lives, but also Football transfer Markets (Europe s market alone is valued at over

12 $10 billion). These kinds of impacts may be considered inevitable due to FIFA s sheer size and reach, but they certainly do not align with FIFA s mission statement, which is as follows, to develop football everywhere and for all, to touch the world through its inspiring tournaments and to build a better future through the power of the game. Football s Governing Institution or Private Company? Perhaps the biggest issue surrounding FIFA going forward is how it is to be defined. Long seen as an objective governing body, with its status as a registered nonprofit, the image of the organization has been called into serious question following recent scandal which suggests that FIFA is more concerned with profit and power then maintaining the integrity of the game and enhancing football for all. If FIFA were to stand as a private entity, then under the table marketing deals and payment rights for hosting tournaments would be seen in a different light, aligning more with the interests of a business and theoretically these issues would be not of the public s business. But as the democratic structure of FIFA s Congress and committees along its value of For the game. For the world, would suggest, the organization seeks to serve the Global community, not its own economic interest. Sexism in FIFA There are ongoing inequalities between women s and men s football programs globally. During the Women s World Cup 2015 in Canada the matches were played on artificial turf instead of grass. Turf is becoming a popular choice for pitches, as although it is expensive to install, it costs less to maintain in the long run. Many believe that men would not have played on turf, and U.S. player, Sydney Leroux, said that the women

13 were the guinea pigs for this potential cost-saving change. Many of the female players said that playing on turf was a nightmare, and teams doctors cited additional physical costs associated with turf. FIFA fought the case in court, and a number of players reported being threatened with removal from the competition if lawsuits were filed. 8 This is just the surface with inequalities between genders in FIFA, Blatter himself has been quoted on record as saying sexist comments such as, Let the women play in more feminine clothes they could, for example, have tighter shorts. 9 In Closing The poor personal relations and flagrant sexist comments have made FIFA look utterly out of touch with the youth of today. While FIFA is a deeply traditional organization, it is clear that changes must be made in order to ensure the further proliferation and enjoyment of soccer around the world. We must all guarantee that the libelous accusations do not tarnish our name and we are not associated only with corruption but with the future of soccer. Perhaps more important than increasing our transparency is the need to look like we are increasing our openness to the world. You all know what goes on behind closed doors. We are here to make sure they stay closed while creating an optical illusion to the audience that they are open. 8 Vick, S. (2015). FIFA: The World Cup Should Be Played on Natural Grass. Retrieved February 24, Steiger, K. (2015, July 13). Senator Blasts FIFA For Sexism, Stiffing Women s World Cup Champions. Retrieved February 24, 2016.

14 Questions to Consider 1. Is equal representation of member associations the best way to boost smaller footballing nations, or is it simply unfair to powerhouses that dominate the market? 2. Should the full Garcia Report be released even without knowledge of its contents? 3. How could checks be placed on FIFA politicians, in particular members of the executive committee, so as to limit their power and prevent further corruption and would such checks even be necessary? 4. Should the bidding processes for the 2018 and 2022 world cups be found to be illegitimate, what would be the best course of action? 5. How should member associations found to be involved with bribery be dealt with?

15 Recommended Resource Tools A review of FIFA Indictments: Database of all FIFA Associations and Confederations: FIFA Code of Ethics: ics_v211015_e_neutral.pdf Article on FIFA corruption and the Garcia Report: Eichenwald, K. (2015, June 2). FIFA Can Still Save Itself: Release The Garcia Report. Article on FIFA corruption with focus on Blatter: Article on FIFA corruption from an international law perspective: History and Overview on FIFA Congress: History of FIFA:

16 Sources Explore FIFA- Who We Are. (n.d.). Retrieved February 24, Governance - How FIFA Works. (n.d.). Retrieved February 24, Green, C., & Peck, T. (2015, May 30). Fifa President Sepp Blatter issues defiant warning to opponents: 'I forgive everyone, but I don't forget' Retrieved February 24, History of FIFA - Foundation. (n.d.). Retrieved February 24, Larkin, B. (2013). The Structure and Policies of FIFA. Retrieved February 24, Liu, Y. (2013). Assessing the Long-term Economic Impacts of the World Cup as Megasport Event. Retrieved February 24, Ruiz, R. R., Apuzzo, M., & Borden, S. (2015, December 03). FIFA Corruption: Top Officials Arrested in Pre-Dawn Raid at Zurich Hotel. Retrieved February 24, Steiger, K. (2015, July 13). Senator Blasts FIFA For Sexism, Stiffing Women s World Cup Champions. Retrieved February 24, Vick, S. (2015). FIFA: The World Cup Should Be Played on Natural Grass. Retrieved February 24, 2016.

17 CONTACT US We would appreciate hearing your feedback about out conference. Please direct all inquiries and comments to our Secretary-General. Michael Treves Secretary-General You can also contact us at the mailing address below: IRO c/o The International Relations Organization at the University of Virginia PO Box Newcomb Hall Station Charlottesville, VA Non-Affiliation Statement Although this organization has members who are University of Virginia students and may have University employees associated or engaged in its activities and affairs, the organization is not a part of or an agency of the University. It is a separate and independent organization which is responsible for and manages its own activities and affairs. The University does not direct, supervise or control the organization and is not responsible for the organizations contracts, acts, or omissions.