Problem & Solution
FIFA IS THE POSTER CHILD OF WHAT ABYSMAL GOVERNANCE LOOKS LIKE
Unfortunately, it isn't the only sports governing body with major issues.
The Problem
The big and enduring problem: sport is run primarily for and by the powerful, with little regard for all affected parties, most conspicuously athletes and fans. Clearly, representative and accountable governance is lacking.
Governing bodies in sport suffer from a fundamental conflict of interest. Their job is to set the rules of the game, but at the same time they have a direct commercial stake in the choices made.
It is a vain hope that governing bodies will pursue vigorous reform from within. The problem is that they are self-interested and operate in a manner that denies a voice to all interests which are affected by their choices.
The Solution
Reform needs to come from the outside. Not from individual States. That would lead to divergent approaches, harming the uniformity of the sport's global regulation. And no public authority is able to exercise global sports jurisdiction.
It is to the EU that we should look. The EU—and only the EU—is in a position to regulate football. Its very vocation is to regulate transnational activity. Why not sport too?
The EU can improve how sport is run by imposing legislative standards of good governance on governing bodies. The EU should not replace governing bodies but it should reform how they operate. And its influence would doubtless be felt beyond the EU.
As per Stephen Weatherill
Click the arrow to download: A legislative proposal for The European Sports Act - a good starting point for a discussion that needs to take place