IS FIFA

ETHICAL?

ETHICS AND LEADERSHIP

FINAL REPORT

Written by:

B083022056 施平福

B084020051丁海倫

B084012043 康瑞芸

M104111024 林冠劭

M104111022 楊庭維
 INTRODUCTION

Fédération Internationale de Football Association (French), or International

Association Football Federation (FIFA). Was established in 1904 by seven nations: Belgium,

Denmark, France, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. The initial purpose of FIFA

was to strengthen the friendship among National Associations as well as the officials and the

players by organizing football matches at all levels and regulating all kinds of football

associations. FIFA has been the coordinator of the most spectacular sporting event, the World

Cup since 1930 (Conti 2022).

In this essay, we will use the Corporate’s Social Responsibility (CSR) framework to

evaluate if FIFA is being a responsible company. The United Nations Industrial Development

Organizations, CSR is a concept in which companies put social and environmental

considerations into their business practices. It is also written in their website that CSR is a

way in which corporations can achieve social, environmental, and economic balance. The

implication of CSR can be programs or business related activities in which corporations

integrate their interest for specific causes with a viable business strategy. From all the case

studies that we discussed in class, CSR programs varied from reducing carbon footprint to

giving free cars in return for unused days off. Therefore, the concept of CSR can be abstract

to a lot of people.

FIFA as an International sporting body, is facing increasing pressure from all of their

stakeholders. FIFA has been using their CSR programs to pursue their causes in sports,

especially in football. For instance, back in 2010 when South Africa hosted the World Cup

2010, FIFA focused on a lot of aspects that they can improve from the South African football

communities. One of the aspects that FIFA focused on is empowerment and diversity.

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Empowerment promotes gender equality in sports, especially football. FIFA coordinated a

street football competition in South Africa in order to facilitate women's passion for football.

This is encouraging since it's rare to witness women playing football in South Africa. In

addition to their gender equality programs, FIFA is also trying to promote racial equality to

raise intercultural awareness in football. One of their projects, Football For Hope, is directed

for young people from 40 countries. It also has a cultural exchange program that promotes

multiculturalism and tolerance. They also held a football match without the referee therefore

players will have to solve conflicts through short dialogue. Although FIFA has made some

effort to comply with their responsibility as a corporation, there seems to be an uncertainty in

the objectivity and the future for all these programs (Woods and Strokes 2019).

Since Qatar is selected as the host of the 2022 World Cup, the integrity of FIFA is

questioned. However, the idea of Qatar hosting the World Cup in 2022, is bizarre for a lot of

people. The major issues that are concerning football enthusiasts have to do with Qatar’s

extreme weather, human rights conflicts, gender inequality, lack of football culture as well as

inadequate infrastructure that can facilitate this major event. FIFA also faced some

allegations of their involvement with the physical abuse and imprisonment of a whistleblower

who leaked the information regarding his concern for the working conditions in Qatar (Ingle

2022). FIFA’s credibility as an institution is questioned since they also have a long history

with bribery and corruption scandals. In 2015, government officials from the United States

and Swiss finally reacted to the allegations directed towards FIFA (Stromberg and Yglesias

2015).

In order to measure FIFA’s responsibility as a company, we will be using Carroll’s

CSR pyramid (1991). In a Journal written by Thacker in 2019, it is explained that the Carroll

(1991) CSR framework is a model that is commonly used to measure the impact and

commitment of a company when it comes to fulfilling responsibility and being responsible.

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The pyramid divides corporate responsibility into 4 different levels: economic responsibility,

legal responsibility, ethical responsibility, as well as philanthropic responsibility. Economic

responsibility is the most fundamental responsibility for companies because this

responsibility means that companies have to be profitable in order to pay their workers and

do something good for the society. Legal responsibility represents companies’ duty to obey

the law, Thacker claimed that this is the most crucial responsibility in the pyramid. Ethical

responsibility is described as prioritizing integrity, doing the right thing and doing no harm.

Finally, the highest level of responsibility, philanthropic responsibility, is described as a

responsibility that companies have to fulfill in order to balance out what they have taken from

the society. Philanthropic responsibility helps companies to hold onto their core values of

giving back to society.

METHODOLOGY

When we do research, there are two different approaches. One is a qualitative

approach, the other one is a quantitative approach. When we use quantitative approach, we

adopt the perspective of positivism, and we explore social phenomena by statistical analysis,

and we attempt to establish universally applicable principles in order to further explain,

predict and control social phenomena. Quantitative researchers believe that social phenomena

can be obtained through observation, emphasizing on a value-neutral attitude to achieve

objectivity. Qualitative is a commonly used research method in the field of social science and

education, usually relative to quantitative approach. Qualitative research actually does not

refer to a single method, but a general term for many different research methods. Since they

do not belong to the quantitative approach, they are classified into the same category. These

include but are not limited to ethnographic research, discursive analysis, interview research,

etc. The purpose of a qualitative researcher is to gain a deeper understanding of human

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behavior and its reasons. Qualitative research methods investigate why and how human

decisions are made, not just what decisions people make and when and where they make

them. Therefore, compared to quantitative research, qualitative research focuses on a smaller

but more focused sample to generate information or knowledge about a particular case

studied.

The data collection method we use is a qualitative approach. We don’t use a

quantitative approach because we are unable to give the questionnaire or survey to FIFA’s

employees or FIFA’s stakeholders. Besides, if we give the questionnaire or survey to the

general public in Taiwan, we think that they don’t really know what FIFA did to make Qatar

host the world cup, and we can only get useless data. With a view to getting the useful data,

finally we choose the qualitative approach as our data collection method.

We collected the data from the Internet, and we look for the websites not only to write

good news that is good for FIFA, but we also look for the websites that write news that is not

good for FIFA. We choose these two kinds of websites with an eye to getting the most

accurate information.

HOW FIFA CORRUPTED THE WORLD CUP

When FIFA announced in 2010 that Qatar would be the host country for the 2022

World Cup, the result aroused widespread discussion, because no one expected that a small

gulf country without football infrastructure would win the right to host the 2022 World Cup.

The closed and conservative culture and media censorship system have caused people from

all walks of life to question whether Qatar is suitable for hosting the World Cup and the

fairness of FIFA's voting. The FIFA Executive Committee is composed of more than a dozen

most powerful leaders in the football world. The right to host the World Cup is completely

decided by the Executive Committee by secret ballot. Therefore, as long as the bidding

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country pleases these people, it will have a chance to win the right to host the World

Cup(Ontv, 2015 FIFA corruption case).

In 2014, some media broke the news that Qatar won the right to host the World Cup

by bribing FIFA . The program "Selling the World Cup" was investigated secretly for a long

time by two journalists from The Sunday Times, risking their lives disguised as an

undercover agent, he exposed Qatar's bribery in order to fight for the right to host the World

Cup, and confirmed the crimes of FIFA accepting bribes. At the same time, the program

interviews people who witnessed the bribery process, uncovering the inside story of FIFA's

corruption, and the process of the FBI, the US Criminal Investigation Section, and the Swiss

police teaming up to wipe out FIFA's corrupt elements，Swiss law enforcement agencies took

action at the 5-star Baur au Lac Hotel, obtained room keys from the hotel, and arrested

several high-level FIFA executives. One of the arrested persons was arranged by the

authorities to leave at the side door of the hotel with luggage. The arrested persons involved

multiple Corruption charges, will be extradited to the United States for prosecution. Those

involved include two FIFA vice presidents. This is also the largest arrest action in the sports

world(Yahoo News, 2022 The reporter "hid his death in the bunker").

The two journalists even disguised themselves as representatives of some American

companies, and under the pretext of "wanting to fight for the right to host the United States”,

they visited members of the FIFA Executive Committee around the world to learn about the

way to win the right to host. The executive committee directly revealed in the sneak shot

video The sponsor's bidding price, payment method, payee, etc. everyone's tacit

understanding of the bribery culture is jaw-dropping. The program also interviewed witnesses

of these bribery processes, including the media commissioner of the 2022 Qatar World Cup,

Amakid. They followed the Qatar bid team to meet with the FIFA executive committee, and

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witnessed the two sides discussing how much money they need to spend to get votes. Every

time Amakid witnesses a bribe, they will record it. After they decided to make an anonymous

accusation, they were threatened with threats to the safety of their children. The means of

FIFA and Qatar made her terrified. The new FIFA president Gianni Infantino vowed to

eradicate corruption and the enthusiasm of the fans has not been affected by a series of

scandals. Everything seems bright and beautiful, but it is still unknown whether corruption

can really be eradicated (OKAPI Read Life Log, 2018 "There are only two kinds of officials

in football, one is for taking bribes and the other is for giving bribes.").

2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar Human Rights Controversy

The awarding of the 2022 FIFA World Cup to Qatar raised a number of concerns and

controversies regarding both Qatar’s suitability as a host country and the fairness of the FIFA

World Cup bidding process. Not only Qatar was suspected of bribing FIFA to host the 2022

World Cup, but they also have a record of human rights violations. Media outlets, sporting

experts, and human rights groups have criticized Qatar on their treatment of migrant workers,

women, and position on LGBT rights (Ward 2022).

One of the most controversial issues of the Qatar World Cup was the treatment of the

hired workers to build the stadiums. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and

International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) have widely condemned Qatar for the

deaths and abuses of the migrant workers who built the tournament. A major complaint of the

groups is the Kafala system, a holdover from British colonial rule, which gives employers

near total control over workers’ visas. According to the Council on Foreign Relations

website, It’s a unique restrictive immigration system that can take different forms in different

industries. It’s a system where an individual employer has to sponsor their worker which

gives them an inordinate amount of power over them. They can control when their employee

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job ends or if they can change jobs. They can control if and when migrants leave the country,

often by confiscating their passports. They also can control the worker’s ability to renew their

residency and work permit. But beyond the restrictions on a migrant’s freedom of movement,

this system also traps them in a cycle of abuse and that became evident when Qatar started

preparing for the World Cup (Robinson et al., n.d.).

Based on the journal that was written by Amnesty International, Qatar tapped into its

migrant pipeline and recruited hundreds of thousands of new workers in order to deliver on

the infrastructure that was promised to FIFA. Thousands of migrants turned into construction

workers to build gigantic stadiums which became the site for human rights abuses that ranged

from verbal abuse to death. Several investigations into Qatar’s stadiums revealed that

employers usually house workers in private camps far from city centers where they are forced

to live in overcrowded rooms and unsanitary conditions. They are often given the most

dangerous jobs on the site and can be forced to work up to 14 hours a day in Qatar’s extreme

heat. It was recorded that temperatures could rise up to 45° Celcius. It was also reported that

the workers are only permitted to have a five-minute break to eat and are not allowed to go to

the bathroom unless they want to have trouble with their boss. This resulted in them drinking

less water despite the need to have it in order to avoid heat exhaustion. The number of

work-related migrant deaths surrounding stadiums remain unclear due to Qatar’s lack of

transparency, which is also the case for the entire Kafala’s system. In addition to living and

working in abusive conditions, many are also not getting paid for their work. Even though

workers try to find complaints, they are only to find few effective mechanisms in place and if

they were found out they speak out, they will be at risk of retaliation and thus, migrant

workers are kept isolated in this Kafala system with increasing debt and unable to access

justice (Amnesty International 2022, 17-51).

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 After years of mounting pressure from human rights organizations and a formal

complaint that reached the UN’s international Labor Organization, Qatar signed an agreement

in 2017 promising to align its laws and labor practices to international standards. In 2020, ten

years after construction for the World Cup began, Qatar implemented a minimum wage for

workers and now allows them to terminate their employment contract. Despite all of the

agreement to align the laws, this is all too late for the migrant workers. Civil right groups and

several football associations are calling a remedy fund to compensate the migrant workers

financially.

CONCLUSION

In accordance with the Carroll CSR framework, we examine the impact and

dedication of FIFA in terms of upholding accountability and acting responsibly. Start from

the most fundamental responsibility, the economic responsibility. FIFA is a nonprofit

organization with enormous revenue potential that devotes the majority of its income to the

game's development. The Men's and Women's World Cups, which are held every four years,

are the most well-known international championships and provide the majority of these

revenues. One of the biggest sporting events in the world, the World Cup certainly generates

a significant amount of FIFA's income. (Reiff and Velasquez, n.d.)

For the legal responsibility, FIFA is steadfastly devoted to the values of the rule of

law, good governance, and transparency in its role as the organization that governs world

football. But because of their corruption scandal, the transparency of FIFA has become

controversial. FIFA compromised its own credibility by failing to acknowledge the

seriousness and intolerance of corruption within its wealthy walls.

The next responsibility is the ethical responsibility. Integrity, acting morally, and

avoiding harm are prioritized as aspects of ethical responsibility. FIFA can be viewed as an

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unethical organization, as evidenced by how FIFA corrupted the World Cup and also the 2022

FIFA World Cup Qatar human rights controversy. In essence, corruption is a bad thing that

shouldn't be done. Therefore, if an organization engages in corruption, it is already

conceivable to judge it to be unethical. Furthermore, about the human right violations, to

build enormous stadiums, thousands of migrants became construction workers, and these

stadiums became the site of human rights violations ranging from verbal abuse to death. This

is regarded as another unethical behavior that FIFA engaged in. But, besides all of these

unethical practices that FIFA did, they also made an effort to develop and transform into a

more ethical organization. For instance, FIFA concentrated on diversity and empowerment

when South Africa hosted the 2010 World Cup. Furthermore, FIFA has recently strengthened

its commitment to constructing a better future by developing a social responsibility plan and

establishing a Corporate Social Responsibility Department.

The last responsibility from the Carroll CSR framework is the philanthropic

responsibility. Corporate philanthropy encompasses organization’s or businesses' volunteer

endeavors. Even though it is not a precise requirement, philanthropy is now frequently

required by corporations and is a part of what the public expects on a daily basis. For more

than 20 years, FIFA has contributed to charitable donations and supported humanitarian

endeavors. FIFA is also engaged through practical programs and initiatives like "Say No to

Racism," "My Game is Fair Play," "Green Goal," and, most significantly, "Football for

Hope." (“Beyond Sport”, n.d.).

In summary, FIFA has both positive and negative aspects, just like other organizations

in general. FIFA is still making an effort to learn from its mistakes and act in a more

responsible and ethical manner. However, in practice, FIFA continues to act unethically and

give a negative impact on a large number of individuals.

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 References

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other abuse of migrant workers in Qatar's private security sector. London, UK:

Amnesty International Ltd.

https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde22/5388/2022/en/.

Conti, Kristen. 2022. “History, rise in popularity and World Cup connection of FIFA.” NBC

Sports.

https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/all-about-fifa-history-rise-popularity-and-world-c

up-connection.

Fitzgerald, Madeline. 2022. “Qatar's World Cup Controversy, Explained | Best Countries |

U.S. News.” USNews.com.

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2022-11-22/qatars-world-cup-c

ontroversy-explained.

Ingle, Sean. 2022. “Qatar World Cup whistleblower was tortured, claims family.” The

Guardian.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/dec/07/qatar-world-cup-whistleblower-w

as-tortured-claim-human-rights-groups.

McPhillips, Tim. 2022. “The World Cup is officially underway in Qatar. Here's why it's so

controversial.” PBS.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/the-world-cup-is-officially-underway-in-qatar-h

eres-why-its-so-controversial.

Ramsay, George. 2022. “How Qatar ended up hosting the World Cup.” CNN.

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/11/23/football/qatar-fifa-world-cup-explainer-spt-intl/ind

ex.html.

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Reiff, Nathan, and Vikki Velasquez. n.d. “How FIFA Makes Money: Global Football and

Licensing.” Investopedia. Accessed December 12, 2022.

https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/070915/how-does-fifa-make-money.

asp.

Robinson, Kali, Diana Roy, Ryszard Cholewinski, and Hagit Ariav. n.d. “What Is the Kafala

System?” Council on Foreign Relations. Accessed December 11, 2022.

https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/what-kafala-system.

Stromberg, Joseph, and Matthew Yglesias. 2015. “FIFA's huge corruption and bribery

scandal, explained.” Vox.

https://www.vox.com/2015/5/27/8665577/fifa-arrests-indictment.

Thacker, Hency. 2019. “Understanding the Four Levels of CSR.” The CSR Journal.

https://thecsrjournal.in/understanding-the-four-levels-of-csr/.

Ward, Ian. 2022. “All the 2022 Qatar FIFA World Cup controversies, explained.” Vox.

https://www.vox.com/world/23450515/world-cup-fifa-qatar-2022-controversy-scanda

ls-explained

“What is CSR? | UNIDO.” n.d. United Nations Industrial Development Organization.

https://www.unido.org/our-focus/advancing-economic-competitiveness/competitive-tr

ade-capacities-and-corporate-responsibility/corporate-social-responsibility-market-int

egration/what-csr.

Woods, Chelsea L., and Ashli Q. Strokes. 2019. ‘For the game, for the world’: An analysis of

FIFA’s CSR initiatives 8 (1). https:/doi.org/10.1177/2046147X18804286.

OKAPI Read Life Log, 2018 "There are only two kinds of officials in football, one is for

taking bribes and the other is for giving bribes." "Red Card Leaving" traces the truth

of the FIFA corruption scandal https://reurl.cc/EXmrEv

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Ontv, 2015 FIFA corruption case: several high-level FIFA officials were arrested for

corruption! https://reurl.cc/OE6AZR

Yahoo News, 2022 The reporter "hid his death in the bunker" secretly investigated for 3 and a

half years "Selling the World Cup" revealed that Qatar bribed to win the right to host

the World Cup https://reurl.cc/91WGlv

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