Who Can Change FIFA?

FIFA has finally begun to wake up after a nightmare over the summer, and it looks like change is just around the corner. Following multiple scandals over the summer in which nine current and former members of FIFA were accused and indicted on bribery charges, and Swiss authorities conducted a separate investigation into more than 50 accounts of suspicious activity that finally ended with Sepp Blatter’s announcement to resign as president of FIFA, the governing board of world soccer finally looks like it is committed to reforming its policies in order to become a more transparent body. With the end of Blatter’s long reign as president, FIFA will need a new, face to push through the reforms that are desperately needed to reshape FIFA’s image, and whoever is elected will have a massive job on their hands.

A few candidates have already stepped forward and announced their decision to run for the presidency. The two biggest challengers as of now are Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) president Michel Platini and Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein of Jordan. Platini stands in a strong position, with his robust body of work as president of UEFA, from diversifying the Champions League to include smaller clubs to instituting Financial Fair Play (FFP), and is also backed by four of the “six global footballing federations,” according to BBC Radio 5 correspondent Richard Conway. He is also one of the few members of FIFA who has actually played at the highest level of soccer, and can claim to be a genuine star. Meanwhile, Prince Ali is a fresh face, and was the only person to challenge Blatter’s rule back in the May 2015 election. The Jordanian prince has strong appeal because of his focus on reforming FIFA’s many dubious policies, including the lack of transparency about financial activities. Former FIFA vice president Chung Mong-Joon also recently announced his intention to run, and there is much speculation on who else may enter the race as well as who has the most support.

But who actually has what it takes to reverse decades of shady dealings and practices? While Platini seems to have the most popular support at the moment, he also seems to be the biggest target of other factions in FIFA, and that negativity is about more than just his popularity. Only hours after Platini announced his decision to run, Prince Ali stated that FIFA needed “new, independent leadership, untainted by the practices of the past.” President of the Liberian Football Association Musa Bility also stated that Platini would bring more “chaos,” “more division,” and “more problems.” Chung Mong-Joon made a similar statement, saying, “Mr. Platini enjoys institutional support from the current structure of FIFA. Mr. Platini is very much a product of the current system.” While these sentiments may simply be political tactics by the other candidates to attack and weaken Platini’s strong popular base, the statements bring up valid points about Platini and what his potential presidency could mean about FIFA’s future.

As a member of FIFA’s executive committee since 2002, Platini has been a part of all that has been wrong with FIFA since Sepp Blatter’s election in 1998. BBC sports editor Dan Roan summed up a lot of the issues Platini faces as a candidate, stating, “Most damagingly, he has admitted to having ‘no regrets’ for voting for Qatar to host the World Cup in 2022, a decision which, for many, is symbolic of FIFA’s malaise.” What FIFA needs right now is someone who has the vision to restore FIFA’s broken reputation, and Platini may not be the solution. With his youth (Prince Ali is 39 years old) and his courage in taking on Blatter, Prince Ali may represent a better bet to push through reform, while Chung Mong-Joon has been a staunch critic of Blatter over the years and will have the necessary experience to take on the challenge. While they are not an outright indictment of Platini, certainly these questions will continue even if Platini gets elected president.

Regardless of who wins the election, reforms are necessary. Some proposals already suggested include term limits for senior officials, publishing of payments, and stricter vetting of integrity. Unfortunately, it seems that the first panel meeting to discuss reforms ended without much progress. Concrete proposals have yet to be made, so it remains to be seen whether this reform movement will gain much traction. Certainly things could move forward more quickly should FIFA elect a president who will not be afraid to take action, which is why electing the right person is so crucial. Elections are set for February 26, 2016, so the footballing community will just have to continue waiting and hope that the next president is one who can bring about the change FIFA needs.