World Cup awarding to Saudi Arabia: Ex-FIFA controller: “Transparency? FIFA has not kept its promises”

Miguel Maduro (56) was head of the from 2016 to 2017 GovernanceFIFA committee, he monitored correct behavior in the association until he was dismissed after ten months. In an interview with Sportschau, he said about the de facto awarding of the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia: “FIFA promised a lot with its reforms, but delivered nothing.” He doesn’t expect any opposition from the DFB or other national associations – the fear of consequences is too great.

Sports show: Mr. Maduro, Saudi Arabia is expected to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup. How do you assess the process that has led to only one application being voted on in Congress next year?

Maduro: FIFA promised a lot with the reforms in 2016 when it comes to the way World Cups are awarded. These promises included a much higher level of transparency, a more merit-based evaluation of candidates, more competition and, finally, that there will be mechanisms to ensure respect for human rights in these countries. What we are experiencing now is the exact opposite of that. Everything was agreed upon in the backroom and now inevitably leads to the conclusion that the 2034 World Cup will be awarded to Saudi Arabia. Basically, we have to conclude that FIFA has not fulfilled its commitments to greater transparency, performance principles, competition and consideration of human rights when awarding the World Cup.

Sports show: Would you say that deals were made in the FIFA Council?

Maduro: I can’t say that because I’m not privy to it. I have no inside information. What we do know is that we don’t know what exactly happened and how it happened. But FIFA had promised us as football fans and the public: Now the awarding of the World Cups will be transparent, based on clear criteria and guarantee compliance with human rights. But none of this was achieved. FIFA, football organizations and unfortunately sports organizations in general operate as political cartels. The concentration of power at the top, the lack of transparency in their work or the lack of measures to prevent conflicts of interest, for example, mean that there are no control mechanisms within these organizations themselves. All of this creates the perfect environment for these decisions to be made through backroom deals. The 2034 World Cup is just another example of this.

Sports show: What are the causes of these conditions?

Maduro: FIFA and other sports organizations have the function of organizing sports. But at the same time they protect commercial interests. This means that FIFA is also the organizer of the most important commercial events related to football. This concentration of power gives whoever is in power at FIFA enormous influence – and they can use it: because to whom and how FIFA distributes this money is a way to control the votes. The president can reward or punish certain people. This is one of the reasons why elections and votes are almost always unanimous. If the president and two or three presidents of the continental associations agree, they can decide what happens and make the most important decisions.

“The DFB does not dare to question FIFA’s actions”

Sports show: The President of the German Football Association (DFB), Bernd Neuendorf, is a member of the FIFA Council. The DFB said it would not comment on Saudi Arabia’s application until it is officially submitted to FIFA in July. Is it a good strategy to remain silent for the next eight months?

Maduro: They are afraid if they do not agree with what the leadership of FIFA has already decided – this applies to almost all associations. We all know: There is no alternative, the World Cup will be awarded to Saudi Arabia. And FIFA has ensured that there will be no alternative. On the one hand, the national associations feel the public pressure in their country, especially in democratic states where there is at least an attempt to hold these associations accountable to some extent, as is the case in Germany. But at the same time, the associations know – let me use this expression – that they have to make an impact. If the DFB makes a decision that calls into question the actions of the FIFA leadership, then it will have to pay a price in terms of its influence in the world of football and could be sidelined. That’s why they don’t dare to do it.

“One Love” bandage? Nobody was prepared to enforce their commitment to their values ​​against FIFA.”

Sports show: Are there any examples of this?

Maduro: When FIFA banned teams in Qatar from “One love“To use the captain’s armband, in my opinion, this was an illegal decision. It could have been appealed to the International Court of Arbitration for Sport. The associations were under pressure at home. Nevertheless, none of them were prepared to enforce their commitment to their values ​​and the decision of the FIFA. What was the reason for this? Every association knows that they would then have to face consequences in the future. This shows us that this high level of concentration of power makes it impossible to ensure any form of democratic accountability within FIFA. That can only arise when external government agencies attempt to impose some form of public control on FIFA and other sports organizations.

Sports show: FIFA President Gianni Infantino recently maintained a close relationship with Saudi Arabia and Crown Prince Mohammed bin-Salman. In your opinion, did Infantino give away the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia?

Maduro: I am a lawyer and cannot make such statements without evidence. I can say that he acted in a way that created a conflict of interest. It was obvious that he had a preference for this regime, for this country. As FIFA president he should have been much more careful.

“It’s not enough to weed out a few bad apples when the tree is the problem”

Sports show: FIFA, UEFA and the IOC now have term limits. But Infantino and the FIFA Council say Infantino’s first term – the remainder of Sepp Blatter’s term – doesn’t count. IOC President Thomas Bach did not rule out another term, although the current wording of the Olympic Charter limits the president’s term to twelve years. Are things like term limits at stake these days?

Maduro: Yes, I think that’s clear. The associations adopted their reforms not because they were truly convinced of their necessity, but because at the time of their adoption they considered it necessary to appease public opinion. In the case of FIFA, it had an image problem due to the corruption scandal in 2015. And this image problem became a financial problem as sponsors threatened to stop funding FIFA. So they had to show that they were making reforms, but they weren’t really convinced about the issue. That was my own experience in FIFAGovernance-Committee. However, public pressure has now decreased. And at the same time, the sources of money have shifted to a large extent: from companies based in Western countries with democracy and human rights to countries that do not deal with these issues. So the pressure for reform has eased. And basically the associations are slowly undoing some of these reforms.

Sports show: Is FIFA better off with Gianni Infantino or was that the case with his predecessor Sepp Blatter?

Maduro: It is a mistake that we talk about whether the problem is Blatter or Infantino. The problem lies in the system of how sports organizations, and in this case FIFA in particular, are organized. Messrs. Blatter and Infantino in particular are a consequence of these problems and their behavior. It’s not enough to weed out a few bad apples if the tree on which those bad apples grow is the problem.

Sports show: Mr Maduro, thank you very much for the interview.