FIFA Scandal: Corporate Governance and Globalization Analysis

This essay provides an in-depth analysis of corporate governance and globalization in the context of the FIFA scandal. It begins by introducing the critical importance of corporate governance and its relationship with globalization, emphasizing the need for robust structures within organizations like FIFA. The essay then delves into the specifics of the FIFA scandal, highlighting allegations of corruption, bribery, and mismanagement related to the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding processes. It explores the failures of internal checks and balances and discusses the impact of these scandals on the global football community. The paper examines FIFA's corporate governance initiatives, including the establishment of the Independent Governance Committee and the subsequent reform committee, and evaluates the effectiveness of these reforms. The essay concludes by emphasizing the need for enhanced transparency, accountability, and fairness within FIFA and suggests that the organization could benefit from adopting governance standards similar to those used by publicly traded companies. The study underscores the contribution of effective corporate governance in mitigating scandals and promoting ethical behavior within global organizations in the face of increasing globalization.

Corporate Governance and Globalization 1.
Corporate Governance and Globalization in Context of FIFA Scandal
Name
Institution

Corporate Governance and Globalization 2.
Introduction
The concepts of corporate Governance and globalization have become very critical in
modern business and society at large. Globalization is a significant phenomenon that has affected
the economies of different nations, business life as well as the social and environmental aspects
of life in different ways and therefore impacting changes to most corporations or organizations
(1). However, without proper governance structure, corporation and organizations are not able to
achieve their objectives given the nature of globalization (2). The need for corporate governance
is because corporations are a vital part of our society and therefore need to be appropriately
organized through the implementation of various social norms and principles which will govern
the conduct and behavior of the organizations. Corporate governance as defined by ISO FDIS
26000 is a system by which corporate organizations can make as well as implement decisions in
pursuit of organization or organizational goals and objectives (3). In this case, it is considered to
be the most critical aspect or factor of enabling corporations to take responsibility to the impacts
of its decisions as well as to integrate the elements of corporate social responsibility throughout
the organization and in its relationships outside the organization. Among the very significant
organizations in the world of sports is the Federation Internationale de Football Association
1 Bayle, E. (2015). Fifa-gate: an opportunity to clean up international sports governance. Soccer & society
[1-2].
2 Jorge, G. (2014). Fixing FIFA: The Experience of the Independent Governance Committee. Sw. J. Int'l
L., 21, [165].
3 Davies, A. (2016). The globalisation of corporate governance: The challenge of clashing cultures.
Routledge.

Corporate Governance and Globalization 3.
(FIFA) whose overall mission is to develop the game, touch the world and build a better future.
With increased globalization effects the organization has been associated with multiple scandals
in its attempts to achieve corporate governance based on several allegations of inappropriate
behaviors and practices which are contrary to the corporate governance principles of
transparency, fairness, accountability, and responsibility (4). It is the responsibility of every
corporate organization to operate under these principles in their operations in pursuit of its goals
and objectives. The purpose of this study is, therefore, to provide an understanding of corporate
governance and globalization in the context of the FIFA Scandal. This will contribute
significantly to the understanding of the relationship between the two concepts and how they
impact corporations in terms of governance as well as why they are critical aspects in the
corporate world and the society at large.
Brief Analysis of the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA)
The world of sports is a point of entertainment for many people in the global arena, an
aspect that makes it a vital industry for everyone. FIFA is an organization which was established
in Zurich Switzerland with sole responsibility of governing football activities around the world.
Its vision is, therefore, to promote the game of football, protect its integrity and bring the game to
all (5). Its overall mission is to develop the game of football, touch the world and build a better
future. Through globalization, the organization has been able to develop international influence
in pursuit of its objectives. However its efforts to adhere to its mission and vision statements, it
4 Hölzen, M., & Meier, H. E. (2019). Do football consumers care about sport governance? An analysis of
social media responses to the recent FIFA scandal. Journal of Global Sport Management, 4[1], [97-120].
5 Verver, J. (2015). Lessons from the FIFA corruption scandal. Risk Management, 62[7], [16].

Corporate Governance and Globalization 4.
has been hampered by allegations of inappropriate behaviors and practices over many years
which have culminated to a state of high profile and well established scandals attributed to
financial corruption and bribery with the most notable events been the bidding and award process
of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups (6). However, it is possible that all these could have been
avoided or mitigated by a robust governance regime that upholds the principles of effective
corporate governance including transparency, accountability, responsibility, and fairness in its
operation or decision making and implementation process. Due to the lack of proper governance,
the globalization impact on the organization has therefore impacted the society at large and
especially the football society globally (7). With these scandals it would appear that the Checks
and balances at the organization management level were a total failure and could not
appropriately regulate an organization whose power and influence has rapidly increased as
commercialization and globalization of football continues to grow. Through the reforms
discussed above the organization has been able to enhance its corporate governance initiatives
and promote organizational credibility. However, there is still a need to develop or to work
towards achieving transparency, accountability, and fairness in the organization to enhance FIFA
to transform the society of the world with a football game. There is, therefore, a significant need
for radical corporate behavioral, cultural and governance changes in organizations which will
only be achieved by adopting the appropriate corporate governance standards that will help the
organization improve in its performance despite the growing impact of globalization.
6 Leary, M. (2017). Where Should They Go: Why the United States Should Have Jurisdiction over Those
Being Charged in the FIFA Corruption Scandal. Loy. LA Int'l & Comp. L. Rev., [40 -51].
7 Bishop, M. L., & Cooper, A. F. (2018). The FIFA Scandal and the Distorted Influence of Small States.
Global Governance, 24(1), [21-40].

Corporate Governance and Globalization 5.
Some of the established checks and balances followed the most recent of the 2016 FIFA Reform
Committee which was established with a sole mandate to propose reforms to the governance
structure of the FIFA organization which were later passed on the 26th of February 2016 at the
Zurich Extraordinary FIFA Congress (8). But the big question would understand how effective
these reforms have been in enhancing corporate governance in the organization. This is because
the passing of these reforms was hoped to be a new age of corporate governance at FIFA.
However, it is essential to know that effective corporate governance should be based on
incorporating the principles of social responsibility into decision making and implementation.
These principles include; respect for human rights, respect for the international norm of
behavior, respect for the rule of law, respect for shareholders’ interests, ethical behavior as well
as transparency and accountability. Globalization brings about the political, economic and social
influence that is capable of transporting the management of the corporate organization and
therefore the integration of the various aspects of corporate governance brings a balance between
the achievement of the organization economic objectives and social objectives (9). The increasing
changes in corporate governance as a result of globalization can be attributed to the increasing
competition as well as the rapid changes in technological advancements and information transfer.
FIFA Corporate Governance Initiatives
8 Rowe, D. (2017). Sports journalism and the FIFA scandal: Personalization, co-optation, and
investigation. Communication & Sport, 5[5], [515-533].
9 Barkemeyer, R., Preuss, L., & Lee, L. (2015). On the effectiveness of private transnational governance
regimes—Evaluating corporate sustainability reporting according to the Global Reporting Initiative.
Journal of World Business, 50[2], [312-325].

Corporate Governance and Globalization 6.
The development of FIFA corporate governance initiatives resulted from the need to
solve the issues surrounding the organization due to its long history of involvement in scandals
and allegations of bribery and corruption which have undermined the values and principles
guiding the management of the organization. As a result, it has affected its reputation globally
and hence the need for effective management through corporate governance initiatives. The
corruption and bribery allegations made on the organization eventually culminated to the
controversial bidding and award process of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups (10). There was,
therefore, a need to improve the management of the organization towards the achievement of its
goals in a more socially responsible manner despite the increasing pressure resulting from
globalization effects.
In December 2011, the first step toward corporate governance development was initiated
through the establishment of the Independent Governance Committee (ICG) which in this case
was established as a temporary body with a responsibility of overseeing the creation of a
practical framework of good governance and control for FIFA (11). This initiative was followed
by the publishing of Michael Garcia’s Inquiry Report which examined the 2018 and 2022 World
Cup bidding and award process. There were allegations which prevented the publication of the
report with concerns of errors that invalidated the report from giving an accurate and fair
reflection of the process.
10 Chhillar, P., & Lellapalli, R. V. (2015). Divergence or convergence: paradoxes in corporate
governance?. Corporate Governance, 15[5], [693-705].
11 Aguilera, R. V., & Crespi-Cladera, R. (2016). Global corporate governance: On the relevance of firms’
ownership structure. Journal of World Business, 51[1], [50-57].

Corporate Governance and Globalization 7.
In August 2015, a reform committee was established through an appointed by the FIFA
Executive committee. His Reform Committee was tasked with the responsibility of
recommending the relevant as well as appropriate changes to the various statutes as well as
existing FIFA regulations to promote significantly improved corporate governance and
transparency within the organization. It is this committee that came up with the reforms which
were submitted to the Extraordinary FIFA Congress and were approved on the 26th of February
in Zurich (12). The reforms were therefore aided to bring about a new era of change to the
corporate governance initiatives at FIFA and contribute to increased efficiency in the
achievement of the organization goals and objectives as guided by the mission and vision
statement of the organization. Regardless of the changes in the economic, political and social
environments, the reforms are brought about new governance structures that will contribute to
efficiency in the management of the organization activities.
However, there have been arguments from various stakeholder groups that universal
governance standards should be established and used to govern every organization in the UK
with a proposal that the governance standards used for publicly traded companies should be the
basis upon which all organizations can establish or formulate their corporate governance
initiatives. I believe this move would contribute significantly to improved management of the
organization (13). This has therefore led to the development of reforms or changes to the
12 Rasche, A., Morsing, M., & Moon, J. (Eds.). (2017). Corporate social responsibility: strategy,
communication, governance. Cambridge University Press.
13 Pope, S., & Lim, A. (2019). The Governance Divide in Global Corporate Responsibility: The Global
Structuration of Reporting and Certification Frameworks, [1998–2017]. Organization Studies,
0170840619830131.

Corporate Governance and Globalization 8.
management structure of FIFA in a way that seeks to replicate the management structure of the
UK publically traded companies. Therefore the original executive committee would be renamed
the FIFA Council and would be responsible for activities or the board of directors in an
organization. It would be their responsibility, therefore, to oversee the strategy matters for FIFA
as well as supervise the standing FIFA Committees and administration responsibilities towards
effective governance. Secondly the secretary general of the organization will adopt the position
of the Chief Executive Officer of FIFA, and in this case, he or she will be tasked with the overall
responsibility of performance for the FIFA (14). Lastly, to achieve effective in this new
management structure which resembles that of the publicly traded companies in UK, there was
need to develop a set of rules and regulations which provide the guidelines and the principles
through which the organization will engage in its operations to ensure transparency,
responsibility, accountability as well as promote fairness in the organization.
Contribution of Effective Corporate Governance to Mitigate FIFA Scandals
It is possible to say that the increasing allegations and inappropriate behaviors which
culminated to the development of well-established scandals of financial corruption and bribery
could be mitigated with the development of a robust governance regime. The development of
effective corporate governance structure and initiatives provides a useful framework for the
management of organization within the established regulatory frameworks and therefore reduce
the likelihood of financial scandals or engagement in activities which are contrary to the
14 Clarke, T. (2016). The continuing diversity of corporate governance: Theories of convergence and
variety. Ephemera: Theory and Politics in Organization.

Corporate Governance and Globalization 9.
guidelines of the organization (15). In this case FIFA the reform committee was able to establish
the FIFA Governance Regulatory Standards (FGRS) which define the set of rules as well as the
duties of the council in establishing the strategic direction, policies, and values of the
organization. The football industry is significantly growing because of globalization effects, and
as a result, it has attracted a lot of political, social and economic influence. The decision-making
process has become a difficult task for the management of the Federation International de
Football Association (FIFA) which is the body established to make decisions, implement and
oversee the operations or activities of football game worldwide. With these influences, the
management has fallen a victim of inappropriate behavior and most important through corruption
and bribery to influence critical football decisions such as the bidding and award process for the
2018 and 2022 World Cup games (16). Given the economic, political and social interest in which
these critical games attract to any given country as well as the benefits which accrue from
hosting such international activities for the host nations, corruption and bribery are likely to
occur at the management level. Therefore with the establishment of a new management structure
which can be held accountable for their decisions is critical to the success of the corporate
governance. It provides a framework to audit the financial activities as well as to audit the
decision taken and implemented by the management of the organization regarding the welfare of
the organization or based on the fundamental principles of the organization.
Transparency is highly valued in the management of the corporate organization and
especially by the key stakeholders in the organization activities. Without transparency, it is
15 Scholte, J. A. (2017). Globalisation, governance and corporate citizenship. In Business, Capitalism and
Corporate Citizenship. pp. [53-63]. Routledge.
16 Crowther, D., & Aras, G. (2016). Corporate governance and corporate social responsibility in context.
In Global perspectives on corporate governance and CSR [23-64]. Routledge.

Corporate Governance and Globalization 10.
challenging to build trust with various business associates and stakeholders as their expectation
holds that all business dealings should reflect an accurate and fair value or should be geared
towards improving the management of the organization (17). Transparency helps the management
of the organization to become more accountable in their dealings with the organization because
they are aware of the consequences of their action in the event of inappropriate behavior.
However, in most cases, the decisions of the organization have always been influenced by
regional politics and not based on the vision or mission statement of the organization which
seeks to develop football game, touch the world and build a better future. Without active
corporate governance initiatives and development of a framework to oversee their
implementation then it’s impossible for FIFA to achieve its objectives under the corporate
governance principles given the globalization. One of the most significant challenges facing
FIFA through the established council is lack of independent thought or mind or voice which has
affected their implementation process for the various decisions. Effective corporate governance
calls for the development of independent thought or voice to facilitate effective decision making
(18). This enables them to have a stand on various issues irrespective of the economic, political
and social influences. It helps them develop accountability in their decision making because
every decision taken is in line with the various regulations established by the company.
However, there is a need for FIFA to appoint independent non-executive directors who play a
critical role in their oversight by offering guidance on the various issues of corporate interest.
17 Liu, J. (2017). Globalisation of Corporate Governance Depends on Both Soft Law and Hard Law. In
Corporate Governance Codes for the 21st Century [275-294]. Springer, Cham.
18 Hopt, K. J. (2016). Globalisation of corporate governance: the difficult process of bringing about
European union internal and external corporate governance principles. In Globalisation and Business
Ethics [93-112]. Routledge.

Corporate Governance and Globalization 11.
Most importantly is to have new compliance guidelines for corporate governance where in this
case the officer will be tasked with the responsibility of the organization internal compliance
function is structured in accordance to the various international best corporate governance
practices (19). Despite therefore the effects or impact of globalization and the changes or
influence that come with it, it is the development of current corporate governance initiatives and
structures that will help rebuild the global reputation and image of FIFA which has been
adversely affected by the inappropriate behavior leading to financial corruption and bribery.
Conclusion
From the above analysis, it is evident that the reputation of FIFA has been adversely
affected by the factual allegations of inappropriate behavior as well as the ongoing scandals of
financial corruption and bribery. However, based on the 201 reports by Garcia, the organization
has been able to achieve a significant milestone in rebuilding its reputation through
establishment and implementation of various reforms aimed at improving the efficiency of the
organization and achieves its strategic goals and objectives. The former president of the
association was banned from any football-related activities in a move to restore the image of the
organization. Through the reforms discussed above the organization has been able to enhance its
corporate governance initiatives and promote organizational credibility. However, there is still a
need to develop or to work towards achieving transparency, accountability, and fairness in the
organization to enhance FIFA to transform the society of the world with a football game. There
is, therefore, a significant need for radical corporate behavioral, cultural and governance changes
in organizations which will only be achieved by adopting the appropriate corporate governance
19 Du Plessis, J. J., Hargovan, A., & Harris, J. (2018). Principles of contemporary corporate governance.
Cambridge University Press.

Corporate Governance and Globalization 12.
standards that will help the organization improve in its performance despite the growing impact
of globalization.
References
Aguilera, R. V., & Crespi-Cladera, R. (2016). Global corporate governance: On the relevance of
firms’ ownership structure. Journal of World Business, 51(1), 50-57.
Barkemeyer, R., Preuss, L., & Lee, L. (2015). On the effectiveness of private transnational
governance regimes—Evaluating corporate sustainability reporting according to the
Global Reporting Initiative. Journal of World Business, 50(2), 312-325.
Bayle, E. (2015). Fifa-gate: an opportunity to clean up international sports governance. Soccer &
society, 1-2.
Bishop, M. L., & Cooper, A. F. (2018). The FIFA Scandal and the Distorted Influence of Small
States. Global Governance, 24(1), 21-40.
Chhillar, P., & Lellapalli, R. V. (2015). Divergence or convergence: paradoxes in corporate
governance?. Corporate Governance, 15(5), 693-705.
Clarke, T. (2016). The continuing diversity of corporate governance: Theories of convergence
and variety. Ephemera: Theory and Politics in Organization.
Crowther, D., & Aras, G. (2016). Corporate governance and corporate social responsibility in
context. In Global perspectives on corporate governance and CSR (pp. 23-64).
Routledge.
Davies, A. (2016). The globalisation of corporate governance: The challenge of clashing
cultures. Routledge.

Corporate Governance and Globalization 13.
Du Plessis, J. J., Hargovan, A., & Harris, J. (2018). Principles of contemporary corporate
governance. Cambridge University Press.
Hölzen, M., & Meier, H. E. (2019). Do football consumers care about sport governance? An
analysis of social media responses to the recent FIFA scandal. Journal of Global Sport
Management, 4(1), 97-120.
Hopt, K. J. (2016). Globalisation of corporate governance: the difficult process of bringing about
European union internal and external corporate governance principles. In Globalisation
and Business Ethics (pp. 93-112). Routledge.
Jennings, A. (2016). The dirty game: Uncovering the scandal at FIFA. Random House.
Jorge, G. (2014). Fixing FIFA: The Experience of the Independent Governance Committee. Sw.
J. Int'l L., 21, 165.
Leary, M. (2017). Where Should They Go: Why the United States Should Have Jurisdiction over
Those Being Charged in the FIFA Corruption Scandal. Loy. LA Int'l & Comp. L. Rev.,
40, 51.
Liu, J. (2017). Globalisation of Corporate Governance Depends on Both Soft Law and Hard
Law. In Corporate Governance Codes for the 21st Century (pp. 275-294). Springer,
Cham.
Pope, S., & Lim, A. (2019). The Governance Divide in Global Corporate Responsibility: The
Global Structuration of Reporting and Certification Frameworks, 1998–2017.
Organization Studies, 0170840619830131.

Corporate Governance and Globalization 14.
Rasche, A., Morsing, M., & Moon, J. (Eds.). (2017). Corporate social responsibility: strategy,
communication, governance. Cambridge University Press.
Rowe, D. (2017). Sports journalism and the FIFA scandal: Personalization, co-optation, and
investigation. Communication & Sport, 5(5), 515-533.
Scholte, J. A. (2017). Globalisation, governance and corporate citizenship. In Business,
Capitalism and Corporate Citizenship (pp. 53-63). Routledge.
Verver, J. (2015). Lessons from the FIFA corruption scandal. Risk Management, 62(7), 16.