Transparency would be good for Fifa

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Transparency would be good for Fifa - Garcia

Harry West
Oct 13, 2014 20:03:45

The chief ethics investigator has told the organisation to publish his report into the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups

Chief ethics investigator Michael Garcia believes Fifa should publish his report into the bidding process for the next two World Cups.

The decisions to award Russia and Qatar with the 2018 and 2022 tournaments were met with criticism in some quarters when they were revealed back in 2010.

Garcia has been leading the inquest into the bids for the two editions of the competition and believes that the governing body would be best served by releasing his findings..

"The investigation and adjudication process operates in most parts unseen and unheard," said Garcia in a speech delivered in London.

"That's a kind of system which might be appropriate for an intelligence agency but not for an ethics compliance process in an international sports institution that serves the public and is the subject of intense public scrutiny.

"Transparency is not intended to embarrass certain individuals by airing dirty laundry or to harm the organisation by showing what went wrong. It's the opposite.

"Where the institution has taken significant steps forward and made that progress, transparency provides evidence of that to the public.

"It is one thing to tell people that a rigorous process is in place, it is another thing to show them how that process works and what it has uncovered.

"Fifa built a system that should inspire confidence that things have changed for the better. Showing that to the public serves Fifa's best interests."