Charting FIFA's Pursuit of Good Governance, Fair Play and Equality

Leaders League: How is FIFA’s governance department structured?

Sarah Solemale:

Our department focuses on the governance of FIFA’s member associations. We ensure that the daily management of national football federations is in compliance with FIFA’s regulations and principles of good governance. These principles, well-established in the business world, took time to integrate into sports, particularly football. This necessitated a profound reform following the FIFAgate scandal in 2015. These reforms were implemented in 2016 at the level of FIFA and the six confederations that join us in decision-making.

As of 2017, FIFA has wished to apply these governance reforms at the national level, to the member federations. My role involves intervening at the national level, in cooperation with other actors, on very specific points.

Can you talk about the essential pillars of good governance as you view them, and how to identify deficient governance?

For me, a key pillar of good governance in sports, which has been challenging to integrate into sports organizations, is the separation of powers. Even though sports benefit from a certain self-management in accordance with the principles of the Olympic Charter regarding the specificity of the sport ecosystem, it is crucial to ensure that the different pillars are clearly defined and do not overlap.

Another key principle is understanding that the president of a federation, although being the main representative, should not make all decisions alone. They must recognize the importance of the legislative pillar, represented by the congress or general assembly, which makes major decisions. This includes amending statutes and other major regulations, adopting financial matters, etc. The president, despite their central role, must collaborate with an executive committee to ensure stability, democratic process and effective decision-making.

Another challenge is the interaction between the different pillars without direct intervention from the executive. The strategy and vision of a federation are defined by the executive committee, but their day-to-day implementation is the responsibility of an administration acting autonomously. There are often difficulties in understanding that the general director should not just be a secretary, but a leader with a well-defined role.

Finally, ensuring the independence of the judicial bodies is a second major difficulty. Although these bodies depend on the sports system, they must act independently, which requires significant leadership and bravery, qualities not everyone possesses.

A fundamental aspect of good governance in sports is maintaining a clear separation of powers

Sports cases are managed by the federations themselves. Does this mean they play the roles of both judge and party?

No, to avoid this situation of being both judge and party, there are independent judicial bodies within the sports system. These bodies are not comparable to, for example, the Paris Court of Appeal. They are constituted and elected by the general assembly of each national Federation, the latter being usually composed of just over a hundred people. This ensures a certain autonomy and reduces conflicts of interest. However, in practice, maintaining this independence is complicated. Even if the members of these judicial bodies are supposed to be external to the federation and often are lawyers, judges or law professors, the perception of what constitutes a conflict of interest varies by country and culture. Thus, although legally acceptable, the ethical question may differ in the 211 member countries of FIFA. The independence of the judicial bodies at the national level is therefore not always guaranteed, despite the reforms undertaken in this direction. It remains difficult to apply this independence uniformly.

My department focuses on implementing within the 211 national federations the governance strategy set by FIFA’s leadership, mainly the president and his council. Since 2017 (i.e. post-FIFA reforms), there are key people within the FIFA administration and audit, compliance and governance committee which ensure we’re always informed about necessary internal reforms. There’s also a risk management department that identifies potential internal risks.

We stand at a transformative juncture where balancing gender representation in decision-making is not just an ideal, but a necessity. We are committed to amplifying women’s roles in decision-making bodies... moving beyond mere representation to active participation.

Regarding governance, do you oversee good management and decision-making within the member-federations, particularly with respect to evolving issues like women’s rights or abuses in sports?

Issues related to the feminization of football and the treatment of abuses, particularly sexual, towards female football players or other female participants in football, are primarily managed by the FIFA Ethics Committee for sanctions (whenever competent), and by the FIFA Child Safeguarding and Abuses department for prevention and action. As part of establishing appropriate governance, I must ensure the presence of women in decision-making bodies, permanent committees and judicial bodies. It’s also important to ensure that activities in women’s football are well conducted and that there is a dedicated commission for this purpose. However, my department operates independently from these other departments.

In practice, it is challenging to ensure proactive and effective coordination between departments involved in these matters. We execute the directives given to us without sometimes seeing our feedback information being taken into account on what works or not in the reforms we’ve implemented at the national level. FIFA is a large organization with complex interdepartmental collaborations.

A current concern is that the minimum quota of women, for example in the executive committee, is often seen as a maximum. It’s crucial to question whether these women are truly heard, considered, and given real decision-making power. We’re entering a new era where women no longer want to be just a figure or a quota. They demand to be heard, their playing conditions or treatment to be fairly considered compared to men. The “quota woman” figure will no longer be sufficient in football and sports in general.

We’re at a pivotal moment. Governance will no longer be just about meeting a quota but ensuring a more balanced representation of women in decision-making, so that the decisions better reflect the society engaged in the concerned sport.

Our internal systems are primarily focused on financial audits, but real change hinges on the individuals in these roles.

Although FIFA has not been formally condemned, it has been repeatedly flagged. Is there an internal monitoring system, or is it limited?

There is indeed an internal monitoring system at FIFA, which has been in place since 2016, with commissions specifically set up for this purpose. As for the external approach, it focuses mainly on finances. An external audit is conducted each year by a renowned audit company, and the results are then communicated to FIFA’s council and congress. All recommendations are handled by the compliance, risk management, and internal audit department, which then transmits them to the Council for implementation.

Nevertheless, the challenge lies not so much in the bodies in place, but in the individuals who compose them. The question is whether these people will have the leadership and courage necessary to face the football organization and insist on the importance of the recommendations made. It would be appropriate to consider a second reform to evaluate what has worked or not since 2016.

Interview by Aude Ghespière.