Parliamentarians Want Probe into FIFA Election
Sepp Blatter is facing calls for an investigation into his unopposed re-election that was mired in controversy and for the FIFA president to publish documents relating to the collapse of ISL.
A committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe met Tuesday in Paris to approve a report on "Good governance and ethics in sport". Members adopted a draft resolution urging FIFA to "cast full light on the facts underlying the various scandals which, in recent years, have tarnished its image and that of international football".
Blatter was elected unopposed for a final four-year term last summer after his Qatari challenger Mohamed Bin Hammam was suspended for alleged vote-buying ahead of the June 1 FIFA presidential election. Bin Hammam was later found guilty of offering cash bribes to Caribbean Football Union members by FIFA's ethics committee and is appealing the ban at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The committee’s resolution also calls on FIFA to "publish in full any judicial and other documents relating to the ISL/ISMM case which may be in its possession". Several serving or former FIFA officials are apparently named in the ISL dossier, accused of having taken kickbacks from World Cup broadcast deals struck by ISL in the 1990s before the marketing firm collapsed in 2001.
The draft resolution will be the subject of debate by the full Assembly, bringing together 318 parliamentarians from the 47 Council of Europe member states, at its spring plenary session in Strasbourg on April 25.
For complete coverage of the resolution, visit Around the Rings sister site World Football Insider.
2020 Logo, Social Media Portal for Squash
Squash’s campaign for inclusion in the 2020 Olympics now boasts its own logo and social media portal.
"There are many thousands of squash fans scattered across various social media platforms and we hope to unite all of them by getting them (and their friends) to Back the Bid at squash2020.com," World Squash Federation presidentN Ramachandran said Wednesday in a statement.
WSF also announced plans to release a bid brochure later this month with commentary in both English and French.
"Our bid brochure will seek to capture the features of our growing global sport, the sheer athleticism of the players, the especially valuable ability to place glass show courts in locations that show off host cities, our development credentials, growing broadcast reach and our commitment to push the boundaries of innovation," said WSF CEO Andrew Shelley.
Squash is among eight sports shortlisted by the IOC ahead of a 2013 decision. It's expected there will be room for only one to join the Olympic program, currently capped at 28 sports. The others candidates are karate, baseball, roller sports, softball, sport climbing, wakeboarding and wushu.
Media Watch
President Sepp Blatter tells FIFA.com about his take on the future of women’s football and the role of women in his sport on the occasion of thethe 101st International Women’s Day.
Written by Mark Bisson and Matthew Grayson.
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