The Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA)
is the world governing body for football.
Nobody really likes them. Nobody
really trusts them. No matter how many reforms and leadership changes they
have, nobody really changes how they feel towards them. People love football in spite of FIFA, not
because of it. And yet, the attitude
towards FIFA has largely enabled them to continue operating from the shadows,
wielding more power than entire countries.
No matter what scandal engulfs FIFA, countries will bid to host tournaments,
broadcasters will cross their own mothers to get broadcasting rights, video
games will sell millions of copies around the world, and fans will watch
games. In a fan’s mind, they are
watching football, not watching FIFA, and although they are supporting their
teams, FIFA gains. FIFA always gains
because football always rolls on. Football
is so ingrained in the world that even during World War II, some European
leagues continued play, some (Dutch) even thrived. Yes, during the worst event in the history of
the world, football could not stop.
Bearing such things in mind, it was not a surprise to me
that FIFA always seemed above the law.
I, like many, still longed for the organization to become accountable. What could bring a mighty power like FIFA to
earth and influence change after being unchecked for essentially a
century? The answer could lie in social
media, and FIFA’s inability to handle crisis communication. For as long as we can remember, FIFA has been
involved in a communication crisis.
Whether it was FIFA President Sepp Blatter saying that women’s football
would do better if the players had smaller shorts or key members being arrested
for corruption, FIFA cannot go long without their (almost traditional at this
point) black eye.
The bidding process to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups
began in January of 2009. On December 2nd,
2010, the FIFA Executive Committee convened to determine the winners. Despite being graded as having a high
operational risk, Qatar won the right to host the 2022 World Cup, many believing
it to be part of the much larger corruption scandal that eventually engulfed
FIFA. The perception was not helped when
two voting members were suspended just before the vote due to amidst
allegations of corruption.
Since the vote, Qatar and ultimately FIFA have been under
constant scrutiny for apparent human rights violations of the workers who are
building all the facilities for the 2022 event.
Furthermore, accusations of diplomatic and financial support of
terrorism, concerns from the LGBT fan community (homosexuality is illegal in
Qatar), and Qatar’s Sharia legal system all combine to create a storm of
questions that FIFA need to address. In
large, they have addressed none. In
2015, 4 journalists for BBC were invited as guests of Qatar but were arrested
and detained for 48 hours after attempting to report on the conditions of
workers in the country. Data taken from
Socialbreakers Analytics for the date range from 2 May until 31 May 2015 showed
that FIFA’s Twitter page received just under 8,000 questions. 100% of the questions were left
unanswered. Yes, FIFA’s PR team
consciously ignored 7,724 questions from people on one of their social media
platforms. This means that shortly after
multiple FIFA executives were indicted and conditions in Qatar were still being
scrutinized, FIFA’s solution was silence.
Let’s take a closer look at the 2015 FIFA corruption
case. In May 2015, there were 14 FIFA
officials who were arrested for charges that included wire fraud, money
laundering, racketeering, and bribery.
Sepp Blatter, then president of FIFA actually said that little could be
done in the form of corrective action.
The most powerful man in football was arrogant enough to tell the world
that he was powerless and expect that to be enough. Furthermore, shortly after
he went on to be re-elected as FIFA President.
Of course by June 2nd, he had resigned, rendering the election
pointless. When the scandal is examined,
it is clear the football is a product with such a high demand that there is no
true accountability for an organization such as FIFA. No matter what happens, people still want to
see football. However, football cannot
exist without sponsorships and companies with economic power began to pressure
FIFA in accordance with their own reputation management. VISA, Coca Cola, and Adidas all expressed concern
over FIFA’s scandal.
In attempting to answer the question as to why FIFA did not
make a visible effort to perform crisis communication, there are a few things that
stick out. Primarily, the power of the
organization almost appears to nullify any potential economic damage. If sponsors were aggressive enough to end
their relationships with FIFA, others would be lined up to take their places. Said situation would leave almost no
incentive for FIFA’s PR team to even engage with publics. Since these events
FIFA has made some changes, although the jury is still out on their
effectiveness. They elected Gianni
Infantino, who has since made the World Cup more inclusive by extending it from
32 teams to 48. However, there are still
lingering issues with ethics, and since his tenure began, some 80 employees have
left.
As an organization, FIFA is seen as a necessary evil, largely
because they have the power to bring events to fruition. Bringing to light human rights violations are
something of hard sell to fans who live in countries stricken by poverty. It seems almost like first world problems, to
care about such things at all. For
instance, in a country like Colombia, whose own problems with crime and poverty well-known,
waits patiently for World Cups and Copa Americas so they can watch their beloved
National Selection. Poor conditions are
nothing new for the average Colombian, so why should they stop them from seeing
the team that brings them joy? More than
50 million Brazilians live below the poverty line and football is their
national identity. These kinds of
situations make it seem hopeless to even think about FIFA being held accountable. At the end of the day, too many in the world
have bigger problems and many of them still want to see football. Maybe FIFA is simply too big for it to matter that they don't seem to care.
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