UEFA has hit back at suggestions that it and other continental confederations have been responsible for blocking reforms.
The Swiss lawyer heading up a committee charged with reforming the structure and management of world soccer body FIFA says major changes to the organization's voting structure and imposing term limits on executive committee members will be difficult to achieve in the short term.
Scandal-plagued FIFA have turned to the man who helped the International Olympic Committee (IOC) out of their corruption crisis, appointing Swiss Francois Carrard as chairman of their reform committee.
European soccer federations have been accused of trying to water down reforms aimed at making the sport's governing body FIFA more transparent and less prone to corruption.
European soccer federations have been accused of trying to water down reforms aimed at making the sport's governing body FIFA more transparent and less prone to corruption.
Leading sponsors of football's world governing body have demanded independent oversight of FIFA's reform process in an open letter published on Tuesday ahead of a key meeting to finalise proposed reforms at the scandal-plagued organisation.
Prince Ali bin Al Hussein of Jordan, who failed in an attempt to replace Sepp Blatter as FIFA president in May, says Blatter should not be handling the reform process.
FIFA's executive committee approved a package of planned reforms on Thursday aimed at cleaning up soccer's scandal-plagued world governing body, proposing integrity checks and term limits for senior officials and a new separation of policy and management positions.
Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter acknowledged on Friday that he failed to reform the scandal-ridden world soccer organisation but asserted he was not responsible for corruption in its regional organisations.
Two top sponsors of FIFA and its World Cup tournaments on Friday ratcheted up pressure on the global football body for major reforms as a corruption scandal casts a lengthening shadow over the sport.
FIFA approved major reforms at a congress on Friday, part of world football's effort to end the culture of corruption that has plagued its governing body for years. The measures were adopted by 179 members, while 22 voted against and six abstained at a congress in Zurich that will also elect a replacement to FIFA's disgraced president Sepp Blatter. The reforms were developed since June by a committee led by Francois Carrard, a Swiss lawyer tasked with a similar cleanup effort at the International Olympic Committee more than a decade ago. Among the most crucial measures are changes in the role of FIFA's president and its executive committee. The president's job has been altered to function like a corporate chairman of the board, providing strategic guidance but with less management authority. FIFA's executive committee, which had become an epicenter of graft, has been re-branded as a FIFA council, and will operate similar to a corporate board of directions. FIFA's secretary general, previously number two to the president, will serve as world football's CEO.
"We can only encourage FIFA to continue (with) the reforms which have been initiated, we cannot give detailed advice of what to do but we appreciate there is a readiness for reforms".
In a major development for Indian football and judiciary, world governing body FIFA has turned to Justice Mukul Mudgal, who has been appointed as deputy chairman of its governance committee.
Campaigners call for Kofi Annan to take charge of FIFA reform.
World soccer's governing body, FIFA, is expected to pass wide-ranging reforms at a Congress in Zurich next Friday, when a new president will also be elected.
Former FIFA presidential candidate Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein of Jordan is concerned about the pace of reform in world soccer's governing body and says new president Gianni Infantino has "no time to lose" in bringing transparency to the organisation.
Running highlights from FIFA's congress. World soccer's governing body has voted on a series of reforms and will elect a new president later on Friday (all times GMT): 13.30 The voting process is proving a long, drawn out affair. After an hour's voting, we have crawled to L for Latvia with little to get excited about apart from the brief appearance of Davor Suker, Golden Boot winner as the top scorer at the 1998 World Cup, as he cast Croatia's vote. Time then for a reminder that for a candidate to be elected in the first round, he must obtain at least 138 votes, two-thirds of the 207 votes cast. If this does not happen, a second round is held. This time, a simple majority -- 104 votes, which represents more than 50 percent of the votes -- is sufficient for a candidate to be elected. If no candidate gets that majority, the one with fewest votes will be eliminated and a new round will be held. This continues until one candidate obtains a majority. 12.45. Having begun his speech by promising to "die with my boots on", Sexwale ends it by withdrawing from the race, "I have got a surprise for you. My campaign ends today and I suspend my participation. With only four people it is your problem now." Markus Kattner, FIFA general secretary then reminds delegates of the voting procedure, reminding them not to photograph their ballot papers.
"Our parents talked to us about Maradona, and we will talk to our sons about Messi. We hope that we will win the cup, and we can celebrate with him and all the people in Argentina," said Nicolas Gomez, a fan from Argentina.
FIFA on Saturday suspended Spanish federation chief Luis Rubiales from all soccer-related activities
Praful Patel, said that he has absolutely no interest in holding any position in the national football body
Swiss authorities have again searched the Zurich headquarters of FIFA and seized documents and electronic data in its corruption probe surrounding the global soccer body, the Swiss attorney general's office said on Friday.
FIFA faces potentially the greatest challenge to its authority since it was formed 111 years ago following the launch on Wednesday of the 'New FIFA Now' coalition of reformists calling for change.
Switzerland's Federal Office of Justice (FOJ) named the men as Alfredo Hawit of Honduras, acting president of the CONCACAF federation and a FIFA vice-president, and Juan Angel Napout of Paraguay, head of the South American football federation CONMEBOL. CONCACAF administers football in North and Central America and the Caribbean.
A European-led boycott of FIFA or the World Cup is unrealistic.
In 2015, FIFA recommended that Qatar host a shorter World Cup over the cooler months of November and December in a move that was sure to put soccer's world governing body on a collision course with the major European leagues.
FIFA president blasts critics, says salary not decided.
FIFA executive committee members Juan Angel Napout and Alfredo Hawit have been suspended from football for 90 days after their arrest in Switzerland, the ethics committee of the football's governing body said on Friday.
Key developments and reaction when world football's governing body FIFA elected Gianni Infantino as new president and voted in a series of reforms at its congress on Friday
The English FA have thrown their weight behind Michel Platini's bid to succeed Sepp Blatter as FIFA president.
'Overall it's time that the federation focuses on how to take Indian football forward. You cannot just have Vision 2046 on paper and not implement things.'
FIFA President Sepp Blatter began his fifth term at the helm of football's governing body on Saturday facing the daunting task of restoring public faith in an organisation tainted by allegations of corruption and deeply divided over his re-election.
Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter will discover on Monday whether he has won his appeal against a six-year ban from football imposed for ethics violations amid the biggest corruption scandal ever to shake the world soccer body.
FIFA's Task Force for Women's Football has called for a target of 30 percent women's participation in the governing body's leading structures and top jobs, FIFA said on Thursday.
CONCACAF, which represents soccer in North and Central America and the Caribbean, has backed a proposal to limit the FIFA presidency to two four-year terms and to impose an age limit of 72 for the president.
World soccer's governing body FIFA will proceed with an election to pick a new president on Friday to replace the disgraced Sepp Blatter and vote on a set of reforms aimed at restoring its credibility after the worst graft scandal in its history.
Recently-elected FIFA president Gianni Infantino was told on Monday that 'women are part of the solution' to the problems that have plagued football's scandal-plagued world governing body.
FIFA named an African woman with no experience in football administration as its second most powerful official on Friday, part of changes made by the sport's ruling body to move on from a major corruption scandal.
FIFA presidential candidate Jerome Champagne has protested to football's world governing body about the number of observers allowed into the hall for Friday's election, saying he believed they were working for his rivals.
The United States Soccer Federation said in a statement on the new charges that its hosting of the 2016 Copa America Centenario tournament would go ahead as planned.
FIFA's executive committee failed on Thursday to agree whether age and mandate limits should be placed on senior officials.
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