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FIFA Executive Committee Background Guide EagleMUNC Boston College Model United Nations Conference Chair: Michael Mondo [email protected] Website: www.EagleMUNC.org March 17-19 2017
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FIFA Executive Committee

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Page 1: FIFA Executive Committee

FIFA Executive Committee

Background Guide

EagleMUNC

Boston College Model United Nations

Conference

Chair: Michael Mondo

[email protected]

Website: www.EagleMUNC.org

March 17-19 2017

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FIFA Executive Committee

Letters from the Secretariat

Delegates,

It is my distinct pleasure to welcome you to EagleMUNC V! My name is Kerianne

DiBattista, and I am the Secretary-General of EagleMUNC V. I am a senior at Boston

College in the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences majoring in International Studies

with a concentration in Economics. I am originally from Long Island, NY, and I have

been participating in Model UN conferences since I was in tenth grade, rising to become

Head Delegate and Secretary-General of my high school conference. At BC, I travelled

to several conferences with our MUN team and I have participated EagleMUNC since

my freshman year. As you begin your EagleMUNC V experience, I implore you to

explore the conference theme, "The Interplay of Power and Ethics," and make your

EagleMUNC experience the best it can be! Thank you, and I'll see you at EagleMUNC!

Best Regards,

Kerianne DiBattista

Secretary-General, EagleMUNC V

Dear Delegates,

It is my great pleasure to welcome you to EagleMUNC V! My name is Jack

Massih and I am the Under Secretary-General of Political Affairs. I am a senior at

Boston College studying Political Science and Economics. I began participating in MUN

my sophomore year of high school and have been hooked ever since. I joined the

EagleMUNC team as a freshman for the first year we moved off BC’s campus and into

Boston, and it has been a joy to witness the conference continuously grow and evolve

since then. The Political Affairs team has been working incredibly hard to prepare for

the most innovative and exciting conference in EagleMUNC history. I am looking

forward to seeing all of your creative and thoughtful responses to the diplomatic

predicaments and crises you confront over the weekend.

Best,

Jack Massih

Under Secretary-General Political Affairs, EagleMUNC V

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FIFA Executive Committee

Introduction

Greetings fellow delegates,

My name is Michael Mondo, and I will be your chair for the FIFA Executive

Committee this year at EagleMUNC. I am very excited to share this experience with

you, and I know this conference will be the best one yet. But first, I would like to tell

you a little about me and my history with Model UN. I am currently a junior at Boston

College studying to be an economics major. I hope to complete my degree in four years

and then move on to the job market. I have been a part of Model UN since my freshman

year of high school (I attended Boston College High School in Dorchester), so that is

seven total years of MUN experience. In those years I have filled the roles of delegate,

co-chair, and chair. As you can see, I have experienced just about every aspect of Model

UN by now, so this committee is in good hands. EagleMUNC is a truly immersive

experience. From the moment you step into the Westin hotel at Copley Square in

beautiful Boston, you will be engaged in what we call the 40 hour simulation. In those

40 hours you will make friends, engage in heated debate, and hopefully create some

awesome memories! I am so excited for this committee, and I cannot wait to see you all

in March!

-Michael Mondo ’18

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FIFA Executive Committee

Historical Background

The Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) was founded in

Paris, France on May 21, 1904. The original member countries were France, Belgium,

Denmark, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland, but that number has since

grown to 211 members with all major continents represented.1 The original intent of

FIFA was to replicate the football association that England had made for itself in 1863.

Originally, countries like the Netherlands and France wished to join the football

association England had set up, but the secretary of the England football association,

F.J Wall, declined the offer. Thus, France set out to create its own association. The first

international competition held was on May 1, 1904 between France and Belgium, 20

days before FIFA was formally created.2

The first international match between France and Belgium was considered a

success, and the rules of FIFA were soon set up at following meetings. They

established: reciprocal and exclusive recognition of the national associations

1 @fifacom. "History of FIFA - Foundation - FIFA.com." FIFA.com. January 1, 2000. Accessed September 15, 2016. http://www.fifa.com/about-fifa/who-we-are/history/. 2 Ibid

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represented and attending, that clubs and players were not allowed to play for multiple

national associations, recognition by the other associations of a player’s suspension

announced by an association, and the playing of matches according to the Laws of the

Game of Football Association Ltd. In addition to these rules, each member country had

to pay a fee to the FIFA executive committee as payment for membership in the

association.3

Soon after the establishment of the association and its rules, proposals were

thrown around about creating an international competition between all of the active

member countries. Conveniently enough, an article in the FIFA rulebook stated that

FIFA was the sole entity that could create and run this competition. Following the

success of football in the Olympics and the growing membership in FIFA, the gears

started turning for a world football tournament. The president of FIFA sent out a

questionnaire to the member countries asking whether they would be willing to attend

an international competition created by FIFA and if they agreed to the established

conditions of the tournament. They decided that the first tournament would be held in

1930 hosted by Uruguay.4 Uruguay was selected to host the first World Cup mainly due

of its promise to split the profits with the member countries of FIFA, while taking on all

of the debt that the tournament might incur.

The first World Cup was met with varying levels of success. 1930 was a difficult

year economically for Europe, and as a result, only four European teams (France,

3 Ibid 4 @fifacom. "History of FIFA - The First FIFA World Cup™ - FIFA.com." FIFA.com. January 1, 2000. Accessed September 15, 2016. http://www.fifa.com/about-fifa/who-we-are/history/first-fifa-world-cup.html.

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Belgium, Romania, and Yugoslavia) arrived in July of 1930 to compete in the

tournament.5 Despite the popularity of the tournament and the financial rewards it

brought to FIFA, Uruguay was deeply offended that more European countries did not

show up and took it as a personal insult. However, despite the setbacks, the first ever

World Cup was considered a success.

Since then FIFA has been holding tournaments every four years as tradition

dictates. The World Cup is undoubtedly the most popular football tournament in the

world, and as FIFA grew in membership and globalized, so too did the popularity of the

international tournament. As its popularity grew over the course of the 20th century,

the organization took on additional responsibilities in addition to creating an

international tournament. These included promoting youth development in member

countries, managing the football associations of the individual member countries, and

deciding upon rule changes in regards to the game of football.

FIFA as an organization still lives on and prospers despite recent allegations of

corruption and misconduct in the association. Most recently, the FBI has been carrying

out an investigation for the last few years regarding embezzlement and bribery within

the organization. While the investigation is still ongoing, so far more than 32 officials

within FIFA have been indicted as of May 2015.6 This list includes Chuck Blazer, who as

a member of the FIFA executive committee, laundered millions of dollars, evaded

millions in income tax, and manipulated the voting process of the location for the 1998

5 Ibid 6 "From The Mag: The FBI vs. FIFA." ESPN.com. February 16, 2016. Accessed September 15, 2016. http://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/14767250/the-exclusive-story-how-feds-took-fifa.

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and 2010 World Cups.7 He has been in communication with FBI investigators for the last

two years and is seen as the orchestrator of the corruption crisis.

In perhaps the

culmination of the corruption

investigation, former FIFA

president Sepp Blatter was

indicted by the Swiss Criminal

justice system in September of

2015.8 This cast a long shadow

over the legitimacy of the organization, especially as elections for a president to

succeed Blatter were imminent in February of 2016. The issue became worse when

Blatter’s heir apparent, Michel Platini, was also caught up in charges of corruption and

bribery and both he and Blatter were eventually ousted from leadership positions

within FIFA by the organization’s ethics committee.9 Not only was FIFA rocked by

scandals at the highest level, it was also facing a severe lack of leadership.

The multiple criminal investigations against high level executives continue

today, causing much public distrust toward FIFA, and a decline in the organization’s

international reputation. Despite this, FIFA is sticking to its previous plans, and the

upcoming 2018 tournament is being held in Russia while the 2022 tournament will be

held in Qatar as originally planned. Under the new leadership of Gianni Infantino the

7 Ibid 8 News, BBC. "Fifa: Sepp Blatter Faces Swiss Criminal Investigation." BBC News. BBC, 25 Sept. 2015. Web. 17 Oct. 2016. 9 Hayward, Paul. "Rise and Fall of Michel Platini - the Self-proclaimed 'football Man' Who Forgot the Meaning of Integrity." The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, 21 Dec. 2015. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.

Sepp Blatter, the former President of FIFA

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organization will look to recover its tarnished image and continue to deliver fans all

over the world exciting competition.

Current Issues

Corruption in Russia

After years of going unnoticed, it has come to the attention of the FIFA

committee that the owners of many major Russian football teams have been severely

underpaying their players for years, often times cutting their salaries in half or worse.

While this has been

an issue for the

players themselves,

Russian football

team owners and the

FIFA committee itself

are earning a large

amount of money because they have been underpaying the players. This extra money

has gone to improvements in Russian football stadiums, the game experience of fans

(free horns, shirts, boom sticks, etc…), and perhaps most importantly, to the salaries of

certain FIFA executive committee members. While the fan experience has been greatly

improved due to the underpaying, it has left the players in a state of total

disillusionment and frustration. Some individuals have gone so far as boycotting their

teams, and many owners fear this movement could spread to every player. This has

Meeting Between Russian President Vladimir Putin(right) and Sepp Blatter

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been kept quiet for so many years because players cannot afford continuous legal

battles and court fees, and Russian football team owners have been paying off certain

individuals to ensure secrecy. With this scandal beginning to come to light, it is up to

the FIFA executive committee to decide their next actions. Do they allow these

injustices to continue knowing that they will earn more money but the players will

suffer, or do they take the necessary steps to weed out corrupt team owners and

institute fairness in the Russian football system? They must also keep in mind the

recent corruption allegations against the FIFA organization as a whole, determine how

vigorously they wish to demonstrate a commitment to anti-corruption policies.

Selection of the 2026 FIFA World Cup location

Following the numerous scandals and incidents involved with the 2022 FIFA

World Cup in Qatar, the FIFA Executive Committee is being judged more than ever in

the public eye. Now the time has come to vote for the location of the 2026 FIFA World

Cup. The committee will be given 3 options concerning the next World Cup’s location

will be held, and they will vote. The final three locations to be voted on are Colombia,

Tunisia, and Canada with each having its upsides and downsides. Delegates should take

many things into consideration when deciding the location of the next tournament

including player safety, fan safety, revenue to FIFA, the infrastructure of the country in

question, and which country is best suited financially to hold the tournament. This is

the most important decision for the FIFA Executive Committee to date because the

United Nations has threatened to lobby countries into withdrawing membership from

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FIFA if this tournament preparation and execution goes as poorly as Qatar did. In

addition, corporate sponsors are threatening to pull out from the World Cup for the

same reason. It is of extreme importance to FIFA and to the game of football that the

correct decision is made.

Map of Countries by their best result in a FIFA World Cup tournament, host cities are also shown for reference.

Colombia- Colombia is likely to generate the most revenue for FIFA given the

wild popularity of the sport in the country, the moderately large population, and

its location in the Western Hemisphere which will help draw television

viewership. However, player and fan safety is a huge concern. Drug lords,

human trafficking, and political instability have been problems in the country for

years.10 Many people fear this will result in horrific incidents specifically relating

to tourists coming into the country to see the tournament. Economically, the

10 "Contact CIA." Central Intelligence Agency. January 1, 2000. Accessed September 15, 2016. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/.

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country states that they could handle the burden of holding the tournament,

but it is not certain whether that is accurate at the moment.

Canada- Despite its fairly large economy, Canada will likely drive in the least

revenue due to the lack of popularity of the sport. Economically, Canada is very

stable and there would likely be minimal damage done to the country’s debt

level, which makes it favorable in some people’s eyes.11 Player and fan safety

will likely be a non-issue, as the Canadians pride themselves on peacefulness of

their country and the efficiency of their police force. As aforementioned, the

people of Canada seem rather unenthusiastic about the prospect of holding the

tournament in their country, as football is not the country’s major sport (Ice

Hockey). Overall fan excitement and engagement in the tournament will likely

suffer.

Tunisia- Tunisia will likely drive in more revenue than Canada but less revenue

than Colombia. Its smaller population will not be conducive for attendance, but

its close location to Europe and popularity of the sport will hopefully offset this.

Tunisia, being one of the more politically stable countries in Africa, states that

there will likely be minimal issues with player and fan safety. The major concern

with Tunisia is its economy and the debt it will incur by holding the tournament.

Tunisia’s economy and infrastructure is not very large, and many economists

11 Ibid

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believe that holding the tournament and building the necessary stadiums will

cripple the country’s economy for years.12 Despite this, the people of Tunisia are

very passionate about soccer and many believe holding the tournament there

will result in one of the best fan experiences to date.

Bloc Positions

It can be quite difficult to understand which countries support each other in such

a large organization like FIFA. To help, here is a simplified explanation of which

regions/countries typically support each other:

North America, Western Europe, and the Oceania region generally support each other

and have similar opinions. These countries include Canada, The United States,

Australia, New Zealand, and nearly all European countries West of Poland.13 Two

exceptions to note are Mexico and Spain, who generally fall under the other major bloc

within FIFA.

The other category of countries is South America, Africa, Eastern Europe, and all of

Asia. They generally have similar opinions and support one another in elections and

other important FIFA executive committee decisions. If you are from these areas of the

12 Ibid 13 Medvedev, By. "FIFA's Presidential Vote -- How They Lined Up." RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. January 1, 2000. Accessed September 15, 2016. http://www.rferl.org/contentinfographics/infographic-fifa-presidential-vote-blatter/27043636.html.

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world, it is safe to assume that you support others like you.

Map of the various FIFA confederations and their constituent countries

Goals/Questions to Consider

Our committee plays perfectly into the conference theme of this year, “The

Interplay of Power and Ethics.” How do you balance power and morality? The goal of

this committee is to challenge delegates to make difficult decisions, decisions that will

benefit some people but hurt others. Sometimes it will seem like there is a clear ethical

or unethical choice, and sometimes the lines will be a little more blurred. The point of

doing this is to put delegates into the shoes of the people who really make these

decisions in life, and to give insight as to how difficult it sometimes may be for those

people. For these 40 hours, you are those decision-makers. Some questions to consider

are:

1. Should the FIFA executive committee continue to allow the underpaying of

Russian football athletes knowing very well that this will put the players in worse

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conditions? Do they choose to blatantly ignore the letter of the law in return for

more revenue in their pockets? Or do they correct the wrongdoings of the

Russian football team owners and pay the players what they deserve, knowing

that their revenue and fan experience will take a large hit?

2. In choosing the location of the next World Cup, will the FIFA executive

committee make the same lapse in judgement they made when they selected

Qatar as the location? Will they pick a knowingly hostile part of the world to

host the tournament and put players and fans lives at risk in return for more

money? Or will they choose a safer country where the players will be safe but

the fan experience and revenue will suffer greatly? As stated, the stakes have

never been higher given what the U.N and multiple corporations have declared

pertaining to this selection.

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Works Cited

@fifacom. "History of FIFA - Foundation - FIFA.com." FIFA.com. January 1, 2000.

Accessed September 15, 2016. http://www.fifa.com/about-fifa/who-we-are/history/.

@fifacom. "History of FIFA - The First FIFA World Cup™ - FIFA.com." FIFA.com.

January 1, 2000. Accessed September 15, 2016. http://www.fifa.com/about-fifa/who-we-are/history/first-fifa-world-cup.html.

Annotation- These two sources come from the official FIFA website, under the “who we are” tab. The major point of this eight-page article on the website is to give a thorough historical background of FIFA. The article starts with the inception of the organization, and ends with the election of the most recent president of the organization, Gianni Infantino. I mostly used these sources in my section titled “Historical Background of FIFA.” "Contact CIA." Central Intelligence Agency. January 1, 2000. Accessed September 15,

2016. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/. Annotation- This source is the C.I.A World Fact Book website. The purpose of this site is to give people easy access to basic information about countries around the world. Information such as the geography, the people and society, the government, and the economy. I mostly used this website when creating the country descriptions under the second topic to be discussed. "From The Mag: The FBI vs. FIFA." ESPN.com. February 16, 2016. Accessed September

15, 2016. http://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/14767250/the-exclusive-story-how-feds-took-fifa.

Annotation- This source comes from the ESPN website. The article documents all that we know so far about the FBI’s investigation into FIFA. The article starts around 2010 and documents the investigation up until May 2015, when 14 FIFA members were indicted. I used this article when talking about recent corruption in the FIFA executive committee in the last paragraph under the Historical Background section Hayward, Paul. "Rise and Fall of Michel Platini - the Self-proclaimed 'football Man' Who

Forgot the Meaning of Integrity." The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, 21 Dec. 2015. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.

. Medvedev, By. "FIFA's Presidential Vote -- How They Lined Up."

RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. January 1, 2000. Accessed September 15, 2016. http://www.rferl.org/contentinfographics/infographic-fifa-presidential-vote-blatter/27043636.html.

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Annotation- This source documents the voting breakdown of the election of Sepp Blatter as FIFA President. As the most recent election was not long ago, those numbers have not been released yet. I had to use these numbers as they are what is available. I used these numbers to draw conclusions of what countries support each other in the FIFA Executive Committee as part of the Bloc Positions section. News, BBC. "Fifa: Sepp Blatter Faces Swiss Criminal Investigation." BBC News. BBC, 25

Sept. 2015. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.