The governance of international football Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The governance of international football - Essay Example Representative, clean, transparent democracies operating at all levels of the football family, leading to self-regulation within football - FIFA, UEFA, member associations and their components would be sufficiently democratic, transparent and well-organized to avoid any form of external political intervention. UEFA should act as a representative voice for the European football family. The Union of European Football Associations, almost always referred to UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European football. It represents the national football associations of Europe, runs Europe-wide national and club competitions, and controls the prize money, regulations and media rights to those competitions. (Wikipedia) UEFA was founded on June 15, 1954 in Basel, Switzerland following discussions between the French, Italian and Belgian FAs. The headquarters was in Paris until 1959 when the organisation moved to Bern. Henri Delaunay was the first General Secretary and Ebbe Schwartz the president. Its administrative centre since 1995 is in Nyon, Switzerland. It was initially made up of 25 national associations. Currently there are 53 associations. UEFA is one of the biggest of six continental confederations of FIFA. Of all the confederations, it is by far the strongest in terms of wealth and influence over the global game. Virtually all of the world's top players play in European leagues in part due to the salaries available from the world's wealthiest football clubs, particularly in England, France, Italy, Spain and Germany. Many of the world's strongest national sides are in UEFA. Of the 32 available spots in the 2006 World Cup, 14 were allocated to UEFA national teams.(Dyjan 49) Main Missions of UEFA Constitute Ensure a coherent approach to decision-makers and opinion-formers on issues of relevance to European football. Maintain good relations with the other continental football confederations and FIFA. Achieve commercial success and sound finances without distorting the sporting qualities of our competitions. Use UEFA's revenues to support re-investment and re-distribution in the game in accordance with the principle of solidarity between all levels and areas of sport. Target specific aid and assistance to help member associations with the greatest need. Promote positive sporting values, including fair play and anti-racism, as well as safe and secure match environments. (Dyjan 51) FIFA The Fdration Internationale de Football Association, known worldwide by its acronym FIFA, is the international governing body of Football (soccer) and the largest sporting organization in the world. Its headquarters are in Zrich, Switzerland, and its current president is Sepp Blatter. FIFA is responsible for the organisation and governance of football's major international tournaments, most notably the FIFA World Cup, held since 1930. FIFA is the largest sporting governing body and the second largest international organization in the world, after the United Nations, with over two hundred member associations split between six continental regions.(Wikipedia) The laws of football that govern the game are not solely the responsibility of FIFA; they are maintained by a body called the International Football