Task Forces conclude their roles

The four FIFA Task Forces which were created at the request of the FIFA Executive Committee in October 2011 have all concluded their mandate to propose reforms, as part of the process which was launched during the FIFA Congress in Zurich on 1 June 2011. The proposals of the Task Force FIFA Ethics Committee and the Task Force Transparency and Compliance, in particular with regards to the creation of the two-chamber Ethics Committee and the creation of the Audit & Compliance Committee, in both cases with independent chairmen, were already approved by the FIFA Congress in Budapest on 25 May 2012. Additionally, the new FIFA Code of Conduct and the appointment of a woman for the first time in the FIFA Executive Committee were also approved that day. According to the good governance road map established by FIFA based on the recommendations of the Independent Governance Committee (IGC), those were the first set of reforms that needed to be implemented by the 2012 FIFA Congress. In the case of the Task Force Revision of Statutes, they presented a draft proposal for amendments of the FIFA Statutes. According to the road map, it was established that the remaining proposals which were not voted on at the Congress in Budapest, and in particular those related to these proposed amendments of the FIFA Statutes, would be presented to the FIFA Congress in 2013. In this context, the FIFA Executive Committee decided at its meeting on 27-28 September 2012 to create a working group chaired by FIFA Executive Committee member and chairman of the Task Force Revision of Statutes Theo Zwanziger, and comprising the general secretaries as well as the legal directors of the confederations and FIFA, in order to consult the 209 member associations and submit the remaining proposals regarding the revision of the FIFA Statutes to the FIFA Congress 2013. This working group will meet for the first time on 12 November 2012 at the Home of FIFA in Zurich. Finally, the FIFA Task Force Football 2014, which had started already in May 2011, has also concluded its work following discussions on possible reforms of the game itself. One of the key conclusions from this task force was that it is crucial to include all stakeholders involved in the sport in these discussions, and therefore several members of this task force, including its chairman Franz Beckenbauer, will now integrate the FIFA Football Committee, a permanent standing committee which will continue to present proposals to improve the game. “The work of these Task Forces has been a great success, and they testified the need to push forward the reform process of FIFA, which was apparent in each of their meetings. They have been an example of vision and open discussion. On behalf of FIFA, I would like to express our gratitude to them for their extraordinary work”, said FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter. “I am glad that the first part of the reform process received such overwhelming support from the Congress in Budapest. This also shows the unity of our Congress. But our work does not end here. The reform process will continue, as planned, until the 2013 Congress. Thus, the road map will be respected. FIFA, and me personally, are firmly committed to this process,” concluded President Blatter. FIFA