Unethical Problems at FIFA - Term Paper Example

Unethical Problems at FIFA Contemporary organizations face a wide range of challenges. However, with the increasing pressure from different stakeholders for organizations to uphold corporate ethics, the most challenging problems that big companies and associations face is corruption. This unethical problem has far-reaching consequences on the organizations affected. For instance, the FIFA, the organization in charge of managing association football, has gone through a tumultuous period in the last decade facing corruption allegations. Some of the organizations leaders have been punished for various unethical problems related to corruption, including bribery, money laundering, and vote rigging. This paper examines these challenges and how they have impacted on the organization. Keywords: Unethical problems, FIFA, Corruption Unethical Problems at FIFA One of the most challenging facets of organizations today is the need to remain responsible and ethical in their business activities. The past few years have seen many multinationals, big companies, and global association grapple with the issues of unethical behavior. Unethical behavior refers to activities that deviate from the accepted norms, laws, and standards that guide business processes (Blowfield, and Murray, 2014). Essentially, businesses are expected to behave responsibly by acting in a manner that promotes the interests of various stakeholders such as employees, owners, government, and the wider society. However, some organizations find it hard to remain ethical and responsible due to the inability to manage all their huge resources in an efficient way (Crane & Matten, 2010). As such, an irresponsible business on the other hands is one that is involved in dishonest business practices, for instance through concealing or deliberately ignoring issues to do with the environment, employees, customers, and the wider society (Blowfield, and Murray, 2014). The most common form of unethical problem that most big companies and associations face is corruption. The International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA) provides a good example of a large organization that has had a rough time dealing with the unethical problem of corruption. FIFA is the body charged with managing football or soccer globally, which is the most popular sport in the world (Skinner & Edwards, 2006). The organization is an amalgamation of various football associations and confederations representing different countries. As such, it is one of the biggest organizations in the world today. FIFA has vast amounts of resources, hence generating a lot of global interest from different parties within and without the football world. The association partners with many other international brands to several football events that generate huge incomes, making it one of the richest organizations in the world. However, judging by the recent revelations, FIFA has become a goldmine for many corrupt individuals who seek to profit from the associations vast resources. Several instances of corruption such as money laundering, bribery, corrupt deals, vote rigging, and mismanagement of resources have been reported in the media in recent years. The current president of the association, Mr. Sep Blatter, and his close associates has come under intense pressure from the various sections of the society to take substantial action to end the ensuing crisis. This paper examines the challenge that FIFA faces in dealing with allegations of corruption. Corruption allegations in FIFA first came to the fore in May 2006 through the works of Andrew Jennings, a British investigative journalist. In his book Foul! The Secret World of FIFA: Bribes, Vote-Rigging and Ticket Scandals, he gave details of cash-for-contracts bribery scandals in international football. FIFA’s partners and collaborators were allegedly encouraged to pay heavily for the contracts awarded to them in order to continue enjoying the benefits they received. Furthermore, Jennings also made allegations of vote rigging on the part of the FIFA president, Sep Blatter, in order to remain in control of the association (Jennings, 2007). Mr. Blatter has been part of the organization for over forty years, rising through the ranks to become the longest serving leader of FIFA. Following the publication of the book, Andrew Jennings featured in an hour-long television show Panorama that was aired on BBC in June 2006. The controversial television show was an expose of the corrupt dealings in FIFA. Fresh allegations of corruptions reemerged in October 2010. According to the Sunday Times, some members of the FIFA executive committee were paid hefty bribes in order to sell their votes during a session to vote for the Hosting rights for both the 2018 and 2022 World Cup tournaments. Specifically, the newspaper indicated that Mr. Amos Adamu of Nigeria and Reynald Temarii of Tahiti were the two officials involved in the bribery scandal (Great Britain, 2011). Following the revelations, FIFA’s ethics committee moved to suspend the two alongside other four officials who were also former members of the executive. In November 2010, the suspended individuals were fined and received bans for varying periods. However, the Ethics Committee of FIFA ruled that all allegations of bribery and corruption in relation to the 2018 and 2022 World Cups were unfounded (Great Britain, 2011). The committee also dismissed any other allegations of corruption in FIFA. Subsequently, the rights to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups were controversially given to Russia and Qatar respectively. In May 2011, English Member of Parliament, Hon. Damian Collins told a committee of parliament inquiring into the reasons that led to England missing out on the rights to host the 2018 World Cup that there was sufficient evidence of bribery and vote rigging, as had earlier alleged by the Sunday Times (Great Britain & Great Britain, 2011). Similar, former Football Association (FA) chairman Lord Triesman accused several FFA officials of asking for favors in return for their votes. He indicated that some member of the committee including Jack Warner, Worawi Makudi, Ricardo Teixeira, and Nicolas Leoz had been bribed to sell off their votes. However, the Ethics Committee of FIFA downplayed the allegations for lack of evidence. In the run-up to the FIFA presidential elections on June 1, 2010, allegations of voter bribery once again emerged. It was alleged that Mr. Bin Hammam, the President of the Confederation of Asia and the only challenger to Sep Blatter in the elections had been involved in a bribery scandal after a convention with a delegation from the Caribbean. Both Bin Hammam and Sep Blatter were summoned by the Ethics Committee. The committee cleared Mr. Blatter of all allegations, but suspended Bin Hammam, who later withdrew from the presidential elections. Blatter was later elected unopposed. FIFA hit rock bottom in May 2015 once again in the run-up to the FIFA presidential elections. The US Department of Justice indicted fourteen officials of FIFA only two days to the elections. The officials, who were arrested in Switzerland, were charged with various crimes including wire fraud, money laundering, and racketeering. Most of those arrested were current and former FIFA officials from the Americas. Jeffrey Webb, the current president of CONCAF was the highest ranking official among those arrested. At the same time, Swiss authorities also stated that they had opened up investigations into the events that led to the decisions of awarding the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. Despite all these events, the FIFA presidential elections proceeded as planned with Mr. Blatter winning the majority votes. There were many voices of descent calling for postponement of the elections and resignation of Mr. Blatter as well as instituting radical reforms in the entire organization. Some member associations threatened to boycott FIFA events in the future is appropriate measures were not taken in good time. However, in a turn of events, Mr. Blatter stated that he would resign as FIFA president, only four days after his reelection. He cited lack of trust from various stakeholders in the game such as the football fans, players, and the media as one of the reasons for his resignation. He would continue to rule as president until another election will be held by the executive committee before May 2016. He also promised to initiate a period of radical reforms in order to restore the image of FIFA. Following all these allegations of corruption in FIFA, the image of the organization was dented a great deal. Many stakeholders in the sport lost faith in the organization as the allegations persisted. Some of the largest partners of FIFA such as Adidas and VISA expressed dissatisfaction with the unfolding events and questioned their willingness to continue with their cooperation into the future. However, there was an array of hope that the organization would undergo massive changes soon after the resignation of Mr. Blatter in June 2015. In conclusion, problems of unethical behavior affect both small and large organizations alike. Bigger organizations and associations are massively affected by corruption due to their vast amounts of resources and interest from many people around the world. FIFA, one of the largest international associations is a great example of how corruption can affect a big organization. FIFA has gone through one of its most difficult periods in its history faced with persistent allegations of various forms of corruption for over a decade. In the process, the image of the organization was greatly affected as many people lost hope in its leadership. This culminated in the resignation of Mr. Sep Blatter, the longest ruling leader in the association. References Blowfield, M. and Murray, A. (2014). Corporate Responsibility 3rd edition, Oxford: OUP. Crane, A. & Matten, D. (2010). Business Ethics 3rd edition, Oxford: OUP. Fisher & Lovell (2009). Business Ethics and Values: Individual Corporate and International Perspectives Third Edition, London: FT Prentice Hall. Great Britain. (2011). 2018 World Cup bid: Sixth report of session 2010-12: report, together with formal minutes, oral and written evidence. London: Stationery Office. Jennings, A. (2007). Foul!: The secret world of FIFA ; bribes, vote rigging and ticket scandals. London: HarperSport. Skinner, J., & Edwards, A. (2006). Sport empire. Aachen: Meyer & Meyer Sport. Read More