FIFA Manifesto

Good article from Owen Gibson on how to reform FIFA.

I'd like to see something about the safety standards used by construction companies to build the stadiums and infrastructure for a World Cup. What's happening in Qatar must never be allowed to happen again. Why not require safety standards that meet, say, the International Code Council. or the country where FIFA is based (I imagine Switzerland has developed safety standards). If bidding countries can't meet them then they get ruled out. It doesn't have to be any harder than that.

As Owen Gibson mentions, the FIFA footprint should be a force for good given the focus it brings to a host nation and not leave behind unfinished roads and stadiums that merely burden the residents when the show leaves town.

As for the World Cup bidding process I'd like to see the event rotate through the FIFA confederations so that it's not perceived as favouring or neglecting any one zone. Each confederation can then plan how to bid better, whether to host in one nation or to share it as it was in Japan/South Korea 2002. Imagine a Caribbean World Cup.