Who runs FIFA?

[angeliaabel]

Who runs FIFA 'cause I don't understand how all theese countries that are cheating get into the world cup, though there hasn't really been cheating just alot of faking.

[maharaja]

Well, many would say that FIFA is run by one simple thing: corruption

I am not particularly familiar with the official structure of the decision making there. I think that the national football associations vote for the president (who bribe them heavily), and maybe some other boards. But then the president his buddies are making all the decisions.

[ACMILAN1983]

It's a very hard question to answer imo. The official structure is you have FIFA run by the president (Sepp Blatter) and a number of officials. They work in conjunction with regional and national federations and it's through all this that Presidents are "selected" each term. That said, only those who are already considered actively involved in FIFA directly can run for presidency.

Reality is FIFA is probably one of the most corrupt bodies in the world today, with 0 transparency and rules which prevent those in charge losing power. The reality of the structure is anyone's guess.

What do you mean by countries cheating/faking to get into the World Cup? Do you mean the controversy of hosting a world cup (e.g. Qatar) or countries cheating to play in the World Cup?

[Ace]

It's a very hard question to answer imo. The official structure is you have FIFA run by the president (Sepp Blatter) and a number of officials. They work in conjunction with regional and national federations and it's through all this that Presidents are "selected" each term. That said, only those who are already considered actively involved in FIFA directly can run for presidency.

Reality is FIFA is probably one of the most corrupt bodies in the world today, with 0 transparency and rules which prevent those in charge losing power. The reality of the structure is anyone's guess.

What do you mean by countries cheating/faking to get into the World Cup? Do you mean the controversy of hosting a world cup (e.g. Qatar) or countries cheating to play in the World Cup?

It's probably one of the hardest questions to ever answer, not only football-wise..
one of the biggest arguments, starting from FIFA to UEFA to every league governing body out there.. there has to be some sort of corruption and the only difference being "how much?"

and I think he meant both.. for example, Qatar hosting 2022 WC
and for QF teams being France in both WC 2010 and Euro 2012(I think?!)

There must be a reform of all football governing bodies and how they are run..

[ACMILAN1983]

You do wonder how deep the corruption is. FIFA's horribly corrupt, but also horribly stupid, which is why despite the lack of transparency it's evident as to how corrupt they are.

UEFA and other governing bodies are either much less in the public eye (CAF is terribly managed, but is much less in the public eye in Europe or South America) or they are better at hiding their corruption. I honestly doubt UEFA is particularly keen, but they do things with much less subtlety.

You're seeing this with the inconsistency with the FFP and also how they tend to cater towards self serving interests or towards interests to help make them or the region look more attractive. If there is truth in fixing in how the French have qualified for recent major tournaments, then it wouldn't surprise me at all UEFA knew about it or had a hand in it. After all, France is a major player in World Football and an attractive prospect to have in major tournaments. UEFA would want their major hitters getting into these competitions because it serves their interests in viewing figures and press interest.

Reform is needed, but without any real support towards that reform it's not going to happen. Getting back to FIFA, they have a massive stranglehold in football (Platini's withdrawal from running against Blatter seems rather convenient), while most FA's who should be opposing FIFA won't do so because if they lose the battle (and the odds aren't really in their favour as they are), then they risk losing whatever "benefits" they get from FIFA at the moment.

I've mentioned it before, but FIFA's power is ridiculous and I mean to the point that they are allowed to govern/investigate cases of corruption against them internally (basically defendants judging themselves). There are people trying to fight this, but it's hard to see it come to anything positive, as it will probably get lost in whole hosts of bureaucracy and inane administration without it ever really coming to light in public. Legally, FIFA will continue to act around the law as they do and I just don't see it progressing.

Bringing down FIFA's control imo comes down to two things. Either someone in FIFA or closely affiliated to FIFA brings undisputable legal evidence against FIFA or the governing bodies in football (I mean the vast majority of them) come together and oppose FIFA's position.