RAJASTHAN MODEL UNITED NATIONS 2018
BACKGROUND GUIDE
COMMITTEE : FEDRATION OF INTERNATIONAL
FOOTBALL (FIFA).
AGENDA I : RE-CONSIDERING THE CRITERIA OF
SELECTING COUNTRIES FOR FIFA WORLD CUP
ABOUT THE COMMITTEE
The Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) was founded in
Paris, France on May 21, 1904. The original member countries were France,
Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland, but that
number has since grown to 211 members with all major continents
represented. The original intent of FIFA was to replicate the football
association that England had made for itself in 1863. Originally, countries
like the Netherlands and France wished to join the football association
England had set up, but the secretary of the England football association, F.J
Wall, declined the offer. Thus, France set out to create its own association.
The first international competition held was on May 1, 1904 between France
and Belgium, 20 days before FIFA was formally created. The first
international match between France and Belgium was considered a success,
and the rules of FIFA were soon set up at following meetings. They
established: reciprocal and exclusive recognition of the national associations
FIFA Executive Committee represented and attending, that clubs and players
were not allowed to play for multiple national associations, recognition by
the other associations of a player’s suspension announced by an association,
and the playing of matches according to the Laws of the Game of Football
Association Ltd. In addition to these rules, each member country had to pay
a fee to the FIFA executive committee as payment for membership in the
association. Soon after the establishment of the association and its rules,
proposals were thrown around about creating an international competition
between all of the active member countries. Conveniently enough, an article
in the FIFA rulebook stated that FIFA was the sole entity that could create
and run this competition. Following the success of football in the Olympics
and the growing membership in FIFA, the gears started turning for a world
football tournament. The president of FIFA sent out a questionnaire to the
member countries asking whether they would be willing to attend an
international competition created by FIFA and if they agreed to the
established conditions of the tournament. They decided that the first
tournament would be held in 1930 hosted by Uruguay. Uruguay was selected
to host the first World Cup mainly due of its promise to split the profits with
the member countries of FIFA, while taking on all of the debt that the
tournament might incur. The first World Cup was met with varying levels of
success. 1930 was a difficult year economically for Europe, and as a result,
only four European teams (France, Belgium, Romania, and Yugoslavia)
arrived in July of 1930 to compete in the tournament. Despite the popularity
of the tournament and the financial rewards it brought to FIFA, Uruguay was
deeply offended that more European countries did not show up and took it
as a personal insult. However, despite the setbacks, the first ever World Cup
was considered a success. Since then FIFA has been holding tournaments
every four years as tradition dictates. The World Cup is undoubtedly the
most popular football tournament in the world, and as FIFA grew in
membership and globalized, so too did the popularity of the international
tournament. As its popularity grew over the course of the 20th century, the
organization took on additional responsibilities in addition to creating an
international tournament. These included promoting youth development in
member countries, managing the football associations of the individual
member countries, and deciding upon rule changes in regards to the game
of football. FIFA as an organization still lives on and prospers despite recent
allegations of corruption and misconduct in association . Most recently, the
FBI has been carrying out an investigation for the last few years regarding
embezzlement and bribery within the organization. While the investigation is
still ongoing, so far more than 32 officials within FIFA have been indicted as
of May 2015. This list includes Chuck Blazer, who as a member of the FIFA
executive committee, laundered millions of dollars, evaded millions in
income tax, and manipulated the voting process of the location for the 1998
and 2010 World Cups. He has been in communication with FBI investigators
for the last two years and is seen as the orchestrator of the corruption crisis.
In perhaps the culmination of the corruption investigation, former FIFA
president Sepp Blatter was indicted by the Swiss Criminal justice system in
September of 2015. This cast a long shadow over the legitimacy of the
organization, especially as elections for a president to succeed Blatter were
imminent in February of 2016. The issue became worse when Blatter’s heir
apparent, Michel Platini, was also caught up in charges of corruption and
bribery and both he and Blatter were eventually ousted from leadership
positions within FIFA by the organization’s ethics committee. Not only was
FIFA rocked by scandals at the highest level, it was also facing a severe lack
of leadership. The multiple criminal investigations against high level
executives continue today, causing much public distrust toward FIFA, and a
decline in the organization’s international reputation. Despite this, FIFA is
sticking to its previous plans, and the upcoming 2018 tournament is being
held in Russia while the 2022 tournament will be held in Qatar as originally
planned. Under the new leadership of Gianni Infantino the the former
President of FIFA FIFA Executive Committee organization will look to recover
its tarnished image and continue to deliver fans all over the world exciting
competition.
INTRODUCTION TO THE AGENDA: BIDING
TIMELINE
2002
Initially in the bidding process for the 2002 World Cup, South Korea and
Japan were competitors. However, just before the vote they agreed with
FIFA to co-host the event. Unfortunately the rivalry and distance between
the two countries led to organizational and logistical problems. We will not
see a co-hosted event again as in 2004 FIFA officially stated that its statutes
did not allow co-hosting bids.
2006
The decision to award the 2006 World Cup to Germany was controversial,
since it was widely expected that the tournament would take place in South
Africa. The final tally was 12 votes to 11 in favor of Germany.
Future Host Cities
Following issues with bribery in the lead up to the vote for the 2006 World
Cup host city, FIFA decided to rotate the hosting of the final tournaments
between its confederations. After a review in 2007, FIFA decided to end the
continental rotation policy in October 2007. Instead, countries that are
members of the same confederation as either of the last two tournament
hosts are ineligible. This policy made African countries ineligible for 2018
and South American countries ineligible for both 2018 and 2022. Other
factors that are considered as part of the selection process include the
number of suitable stadiums and potential for success and profit.
2010
The first World Cup bidding process under continental rotation was the 2010
World Cup, in which FIFA accepted five bids from African nations. The
winning nation was South Africa, making it the first World Cup held in Africa.
It became the largest sporting event ever held on that continent, as the
Olympics have yet to visit there.
2014
The 2014 World Cup, which FIFA had earmarked for the South American
region, is to be held in Brazil, since the South American Football
Confederation made it their choice.
2018 and 2022 Bid
FIFA made a joint announcement on Dec 2, 2010 of the winning hosts for
both 2018 and 2022. The 2018 World Cup was awarded to Russia. Other
contenders for host country were England, and joint bidders Spain/Portugal
and Netherlands/Belgium. For the 2022 event, the winner was Qatar. Other
contenders for host country were Australia, Japan, South Korea and USA.
FIFA HOST COUNTRY SELECTION PROCESS
Map of FIFA World Cup final hosts, 1930–2018. Dark green: twice; middle
green: once; light green: planned until 2026
Seventeen countries have been FIFA World Cup hosts in the competition's
twenty tournaments since the inaugural World Cup in 1930. The organization
at first awarded hosting to countries at meetings of FIFA's congress. The
choice of location was controversial in the earliest tournaments, given the
three-week boat journey between South America and Europe, the two
centers of strength in football at the time.
The decision to hold the first cup in Uruguay, for example, led to only four
European nations competing.[1] The next two World Cups were both held in
Europe. The decision to hold the second of these, the 1938 FIFA World Cup,
in France was controversial, as the South American countries had been led
to understand that the World Cup would rotate between the two continents.
Both Argentina and Uruguay thus boycotted the tournament.[2] The first
tournament following World War II, held in Brazil in 1950, had three teams
withdraw for either financial problems or disagreements with the
organization.[3]
To avoid any future boycotts or controversy, FIFA began a pattern of
alternation between the Americas and Europe, which continued until
the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Asia. The system evolved so that the host
country is now chosen in a vote by FIFA's Congress. This is done under
an exhaustive ballot system. The decision is currently made roughly seven
years in advance of the tournament, though the hosts for
the 2022 tournament were chosen at the same time as those for the 2018
tournament.
Only Mexico, Italy, France, Germany (West Germany until shortly after the
1990 World Cup) and Brazil have hosted the event on two occasions. Mexico
City's Estadio Azteca and Rio de Janeiro's Maracanã are the only venues ever
to have hosted two FIFA World Cup finals. Only the 2002 FIFA World
Cup had more than one host, being split between Japan and South Korea.
Upon the selection of Canada–Mexico–United States bid for the 2026 FIFA
World Cup, the tournament will be the first to be hosted by more than two
countries. Mexico becomes the first country to host three men's World Cups
and its Estadio Azteca, should it be selected, will become the first stadium to
stage three World Cup tournaments.
2034 WORLD CUP HOST COUNTRY SELECTION
Host selection
The first proposed bid for the 2030 World Cup was a joint bid from the
Argentine Football Association and Uruguayan Football Association. The
second was by The Football Association of England. The third was by the
Royal Moroccan Football Federation in a potential joint bid with its
neighbours. Under FIFA rules as of 2017, the 2030 World Cup cannot be held
in Asia (AFC), as its members are excluded from the bidding following the
selection of Qatar in 2022, and in North America (CONCACAF), where the
2026 edition in Canada, Mexico and the United States will be hosted.
The joint bid by Argentina and Uruguay was announced on 29 July 2017.
Before a match between Uruguay and Argentina in Montevideo four weeks
later, Uruguay's Luis Suárez and Argentina's Lionel Messi – teammates at FC
Barcelona – promoted the bid with commemorative shirts. On 31 August
2017, it was suggested Paraguay would join as a third host. CONMEBOL, the
South American confederation, confirmed the joint three-way bid in
September 2017. The Uruguay–Argentina–Paraguay bid would coincide with
the centennial anniversary of the first FIFA World Cup final hosted by
Uruguay as well as the bicentennial of the first Constitution of Uruguay.
In 2015, The Football Association vice-chairman David Gill had stated that
his country could potentially bid for 2030, provided that the bidding process
was made more transparent. Journalist Ben Rumsby wrote, "England is one
of few countries that could stage even a 48-nation event in its entirety, while
Football Association chief executive Martin Glenn made it clear earlier this
year bidding for 2030 was an option." In June 2017, UEFA's president
Aleksander Čeferin stated that Europe (UEFA) would definitely fight for its
"turn" to host the World Cup in 2030. The same month, UEFA stated that "it
would support a pan-British bid for 2030 or even a single bid from England."
Moreover, a possible United Kingdom bid for 2030 was also backed by the
German Football Association. On 15 July 2018, Deputy Leader of the UK
Labour Party, Tom Watson, said in an interview that he and his party backed
a 2030 World Cup bid for the UK saying that "I hope it's one of the first
things a Labour government does, which is work with our FA to try and put a
World Cup bid together."On 16 July 2018, British Prime Minister Theresa May
expressed her support of the bid and her openness about discussions with
football authorities. Although there had been no prior discussion with the
Football Association, the Scottish FA also expressed its interest about joining
a Home Nations bid. Former Scottish First Minister Henry McLeish has called
the Scottish government and the Scottish Football Association to bid for the
2030 FIFA World Cup with the other British nations.
On 17 June 2018, the English Football Association announced that they are
in talks with home nations over a UK-wide bid to host 2030 World Cup. On 1
August 2018, it was reported that the FA was preparing a bid for England to
host the World Cup in 2030. A decision is expected to be made in 2019,
after the FA will conduct a feasibility work on a potential bid. UEFA President
Aleksander Čeferin wants only one European bid to host the 2030 FIFA
World Cup. He also considers the British bid as the wisest idea. There are
also talks about the Football Association of Ireland joining a possible British
bid. The Scottish Football Association considered the potential British bid as
a great opportunity to get funds to renovate and redevelop the Hampden
Park in Glasgow, the Scotland national football team's home stadium. On 19
September 2018, the Football Association of Ireland confirmed it has joined
the feasibility study for co-hosting the 2030 World Cup with England,
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. On 28 September 2018, British Prime
Minister Theresa May announced the British Government would back any
British and Irish FIFA World Cup bid. Furthermore, The Football Association
and the Football Association of Wales confirmed the five national governing
bodies are in discussions about the feasibility of bidding to host the 2030
FIFA World Cup.
On 17 June 2018, the Royal Moroccan Football Federation announced its co-
bidding for the 2030 World Cup. There are two possible joint bids one with
Tunisia and Algeria, and the other with Spain and Portugal.
On 29 September 2018, the executive board of the Union of North African
Football Federations (UNAF) announced its interest to submit a joint North
African bid for the 2030 FIFA World Cup.
Current FIFA rules block Asian Football Confederation nations from hosting
the 2030 World Cup following the selection of Qatar in [Link],
South Korea's President Moon Jae-in suggested in June 2017 that the World
Cup be hosted by a Northeast Asian block including both South Korea and
North Korea, telling FIFA president Gianni Infantino it would improve
relations in the region. Chung Mong-gyu, the head of the Korea Football
Association, renewed the offer to the DPR Korea Football Association, the
Chinese Football Association and the Japan Football Association at the FIFA
Congress in Moscow in June 2018. South Korean president Moon discussed
the proposal again with Infantino during the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
On 10 July 2018, Egypt's Sports Minister expressed interest in bidding to
host.
Cameroonian presidential candidate Joshua Osih's political program includes
nominating his country along with two sub-Saharan African countries to host
the 2030 World Cup, according to Cameroonian channel CRTV.
On 12 September 2018, Prime Minister of Spain Pedro Sánchez discussed
about the possibility for Spain to bid for the 2030 FIFA World Cup with FIFA
President Gianni Infantino and Royal Spanish Football Federation President
Luis Rubiales.
On 2 November 2018, Prime Minister of Bulgaria Boyko Borisov stated that
Prime Minister of Greece Alexis Tsipras proposed joint bid by Bulgaria,
Romania, Serbia and Greece during the Balkan Four meeting in Varna. At
the meeting of the Ministers of Youth and Sports of Serbia, Vanja Udovičić,
Bulgaria Krasen Kralev, Romania, Constantin Bogdan Matei and Deputy
Minister of Culture and Sports of Greece, Giorgos Vasileiadis, it was officially
confirmed that these four countries would submit joint candidacy for the
organization of the 2028 UEFA European Football Championship and World
Cup in 2030.
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER
2. Should FIFA have an independent overseer? If so, how should this be enacted? Would it be a single
person or a committee? How would the overseer be chosen? What authority would the overseer have?
3. How should FIFA be reorganized to reduce corruption? Or should it be abolished and a new authority
body for soccer be formed?
4. How should the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids be handled? Should Russia and Qatar be allowed to
keep the bid despite their record of human right violations?
5. What should happen to the current leaders of FIFA who oversaw this corruption? Should they be
prosecuted criminally? If so, to what extent should they be held responsible?
6. How can FIFA increase their transparency? 7. How can these human right violations be prevented in
the future? And how should the existing damage be fixed?
