11/12/2012 Culture, Science, Education and Media
Strasbourg, 11.12.2012 – A Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly hearing on governance at the world football body FIFA is to take place in Paris on 19 December, attended by leading current or former members of the organisation as well as those who have sought reforms to encourage greater transparency.
Participants at the hearing, organised by PACE’s Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media, include:
• Theo Zwanziger, a member of FIFA’s Executive Committee
• Jérôme Champagne, former Deputy Secretary General of FIFA
• Sylvia Schenk, Transparency International
• Jean-Loup Chappelet, Professor and Dean, IDHEAP Swiss Graduate School of Public Administration
Topics to be discussed include FIFA’s on-going reform process, possible measures to ensure greater transparency – reducing the risk of abuse of authority and corruption – and the introduction of new legislation in Switzerland to combat corruption in sports organisations.
The hearing is a follow-up to an April 2012 resolution by the Parliamentary Assembly – which brings together 318 parliamentarians from the 47 member states of the Council of Europe – calling on FIFA to “fully investigate the facts underlying the various scandals which, in recent years, have tarnished its image and that of international football”.
It also proposed a comprehensive set of guidelines on good governance and ethics in sport, including on combating corruption, for international and national sports bodies as well as governments to apply.
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Practical information for the media:
The hearing, which is open to the press, takes place from 9 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. on 19 December 2012 at the Council of Europe office in Paris (55 Avénue Kléber, 75016 Paris, Métro: Boissière).
Media wishing to attend are invited to request accreditation from Catherine Becarmin, PACE Communication Division, tel. +33 3 88 41 31 93, e-mail: [email protected].
Press points with individual participants may be arranged on the spot.
For more information, please contact PACE Communication Division, tel : +33 3 88 41 31 93