FIFA’s Exco ratified a raft of reforms today. The most interesting to me was the separation of “political” and “management functions”. The Executive Committee (elected by the Congress of members) now becomes a Council with general oversight of the development of FIFA but no day-to-day administrative powers. Essentially they fulfil the functions of trustees ensuring that FIFA operates in the best interests of the game. Meanwhile the administration is headed by a CEO responsible for the efficient implementation of FIFA policy.
This is precisely the kind of separation of powers I have argued for before. I went even further than this, and argued that you could float of the administrative arm as a corporation traded on the stock market, while reserving strategic control with the Council and Congress. Once the new administrative structure in place, this would be simple to implement.
For those interested, here is the text of the FIFA announcement on this issue:
Clear separation between “political” and management functions of FIFA
- The Executive Committee of FIFA should oversee strategic matters and have a supervisory role over standing committees and the FIFA administration. It should not have executive powers or direct managerial responsibilities. To reflect its more appropriate function, the name of the committee should be changed to the “FIFA Council”. At the same time, the size of this body should be increased to ensure wider participation and democracy.
- The President of FIFA should chair the FIFA Council and be accountable to it. The President should be the public “ambassador” of FIFA and aim to foster a positive image of the organisation.
- The General Secretary should be the Chief Executive Officer of FIFA with overall responsibility for the performance of the FIFA Administration. The Administration should execute the day to day business operations of FIFA by implementing the policies and strategies as defined and directed by the FIFA Council. The General Secretary may only be dismissed by action of the FIFA Council.
The full details are here.
