FIFA unveils hard-hitting new Code of Conduct to abolish corruption

By Andrew Warshaw

April 27 - FIFA's drive to clean up its act is set to take centre stage at next month's Congress in Budapest after the published agenda revealed that all 208 member nations have been urged to kick out bribery, match fixing and corruption once and for all.

After a torrid 18 months, world football's governing body has come up with a new draft Code of Conduct embracing 11 main aims including a call on members to "behave ethically and act with integrity in all situations".

"The observance of the principles laid down in the Code of Conduct is essential to FIFA and its objectives," the document states.

Failure to follow the code "might jeopardise the integrity of matches or competitions".

After a series of unprecedented scandals, FIFA President Sepp Blatter is determined to try and repair the organisation's battered reputation.

One proposal in Budapest will be to limit the age of all senior FIFA members to 72 though Blatter himself is 76 and will be 79 by the time his completes his fourth and final term in 2015.

Another is restricting the FIFA President to two four-year terms of office and Executive Committee members to three four-year mandates.

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With his reputation at stake, the Budapest summit takes place halfway through Blatter's (pictured above, left) promised two-year "road map to reform" which is being led by an independent panel headed by Swiss professor Mark Pieth (pictured above, right).

The proposals for changes to the FIFA statutes, which run to 53 pages, include a woman being added to the Executive Committee; splitting the Ethics Committee into two sections to make it more transparent; and special background checks for anyone aspiring to hold high office, a direct result of the spate of resignations and bans that have snared so many powerbrokers.

"Any persons who hold or seek to hold an official FIFA position which requires election or confirmation by the Congress shall be subjected to a prior, in-depth integrity check by the Nomination Committee," FIFA said.

The vetting process would include "obtaining a character reference, a police clearance certificate or a similar certificate".

The new blueprint for reform will not be put to the vote in Budapest, with next year's Congress in Mauritius dotting the i's and crossing the t's.

But it forms the basis of a long-term process aimed at finally bringing some transparency to the corruption-plagued governing body.

"The implementation will be a step-by-step process and I am committed to doing everything in my power to fulfil this promise, with further reforms to be presented at the 2013 Congress," said Blatter.

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