FIFA Reforms to Return Trust to Football Organization

Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said that FIFA reforms coincide with all of the challenges before FIFA.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – FIFA reforms will include the organization’s structure, management, transparency, budget divisions, and tournaments, and will return trust to the football organization, Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said Thursday.

"The reform committee proposed a list of changes and the executive committee supported it," Mutko told R-Sport by telephone.

Earlier on Thursday, the FIFA reform committee presented the reform package to the organization’s executive committee in Zurich.

"Now [these reforms] will be presented to the Congress in February. In my opinion, today’s list of reforms coincide with all of the challenges before FIFA. If the Congress supports them, I think FIFA will regain its trust. These include [reforms of] the structure, management, transparency, budget divisions, tournaments, and so on," Mutko added.

The reforms are aimed at strengthening the member associations’ financial governance and management amid a corruption scandal involving nine of FIFA high-ranking officials. In May, they were arrested on a US federal corruption warrant.

Although FIFA President Joseph Blatter was not charged alongside other executives of the organization, he resigned on June 2, four days after he being elected for a fifth term as president.

Earlier in the day, Swiss police arrested at least two FIFA officials suspected of accepting bribes in Zurich.