Fifa has lost the trust of the people. We cannot allow the architects and controllers of world football to get away with dragging the beautiful game through the grime of corruption and bribery.
The sport desperately needs a change of governance. For too long executive officials, businesspeople and hangers-on have enjoyed this private casino, using the payments into Fifa’s account to fund their lavish lifestyles.
Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini, the Fifa president and his Uefa counterpart, face a potential lifetime ban from football after the association’s ethics committee charged them with corruption relating to a £1.35m payment to Platini in 2011.
Regardless of whether or not Blatter knew about the allegations of bribery, corruption and money laundering, he should certainly not expect honours. In any company in the world with a few billion dollars in the bank, the man or woman at the top would have gone a long time ago. It is incredible that the personal casino lasted as long as it did. I bet some officials thought their lucky numbers were destined to come in for ever.
And while the rest of the football world was battling racism and inequality, Blatter suggested only a handshake was needed to make things better. Maybe the €5m handshake with Republic of Ireland, when they controversially got knocked out by France in the 2009 playoff, was the first sign of the casino crumbling around them.
The attitude adopted at the top of Fifa reveals proper governance was nonexistent. The organisation should be dismantled and relocated from Switzerland because I believe it has been protected for so long Fifa has lost its reputation for true sporting governance. It is only right that we move the headquarters to a more open-minded environment, to a country with transparency in its heart and a natural consciousness towards the human race, not just sport. A country such as Norway or Denmark, for example.
Fifa urgently needs a fresh start and transparency is key. Moving its headquarters is the only way the association will attract new people, many of whom are likely to have long lost faith with Fifa’s ability to govern. It needs that kind of integrity at the helm to restore confidence in the organisation.
Maybe it will take a generation, but we need to start to repair football’s reputation – and that means hiring new people at the top, eradicating nepotism and starting afresh.
Fifa would benefit hugely from the experience of former players from a variety of backgrounds including Africa and Asia. There aren’t many senior staff who have played at the top level and the organisation needs balance. We don’t just need people who are always shouting – there are others out there who are measured and have a lot to offer.
Players understand teamwork – they have to work with lots of different kinds of people, many of whom they may not really get on with . But players tend to look at the greater good – and that’s what Fifa needs to do; it needs to take a world view so it can create unity and regain its integrity.
But it takes time to find people of this calibre and Fifa needs to consider how it recruits. First, it should think about paying staff more to discourage them from putting their hands in the till. Second, the association needs to be more open: corruption has gone unchecked because external bodies have not had access.
I think it’s time to scrutinise Fifa officials and the candidates for the presidency – some of which I have reservations about. We need to change the selection process so no president can remain in the post for more than three World Cups.
Recently, the mighty Germans have been accused of bribery. Documents and hard drives were seized from the national football association’s headquarters in Frankfurt in connection with an alleged hidden €6.7m payment to the Fifa account, linked to the country’s successful bid for the 2006 World Cup.
In light of these shocking allegations, I think the football authorities should also investigate whether there are any discrepancies in the winning bids from Russia and Qatar.
Sol Campbell joins the Guardian’s David Conn, the sports writer and chair of Women in Football Anna Kessel, former footballer Graeme Le Saux, comedian Ian Stone and chair Evan Davis at the Future of Football on 28 November. You can follow him on Twitter @SolManOfficial
