Federation Internationale De Football Association Research Articles

(Mis)Governing World Football? Agency and (Non)Accountability in FIFA

Abstract —We identify the variables that have enabled the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) to evade internal and external legal and juridical rules and processes, allowing it to prioritise the interests of its leaders and staff rather than its stakeholders. An interdisciplinary theoretical framework highlights the weaknesses of the legal systems, democratic processes, market mechanisms and regulatory regimes governing FIFA’s activities since its foundation. The historical processes transforming FIFA into a wealthy enterprise whose leaders could abuse their power with impunity are reviewed. An evaluation of the structural reforms introduced in 2016 following the exposure of FIFA corruption by US authorities in 2015 then shows how they have strengthened the internal and external rules and procedures enabling stakeholders to hold FIFA to account, whilst arguing that the reforms have not eliminated the leadership’s ability to ‘capture’ its democratic processes, exploit its monopolistic controls over lucrative contracts and evade regulatory controls.

Sporting mega-events, physical activity, and Actor Network Theory: Mapping actants of movement at the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup

This article explores the potential of Bruno Latour's Actor Network Theory (ANT) for rethinking the relationship between sporting mega-events and physical activity (PA). Engaging with ANT as theory and methodology, we explore how PA is a result of human–nonhuman interactions occurring during and around sporting events. More specifically, based upon a collaborative ethnography of the 2023 FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) Women's World Cup (FWWC23), we focus on humans and nonhumans (football, physical spaces, and seats) as actants (intermediaries and mediators) that enabled and/or constrained PA. In so doing, we provide an alternative to PA initiatives (such as the collaboration between FIFA and the World Health Organization with the BeActive #BringtheMoves campaign at the FWWC23) that focus on human intentionality and view the body as controllable. Instead, in this article we recognize PA as a complex phenomenon dis/re/assembling as objects, humans, and actants interact in (un)expected ways. Simultaneously, we discuss both the affordances and challenges offered by ANT in sporting mega-event literature and for research and policies that link sporting events and PA.

Enhancement of Communicable Disease Surveillance During FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™: A Legacy

Background Communicable disease surveillance in Qatar was expanded and improved to adapt to the demanding requirements during the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup Qatar 2022™. This article documents Qatar’s surveillance enhancements to support future mass-gathering preparedness strategies. Methods The notification enhancement project (NEP) and the mass gathering – early warning, alert, and response system (MG-EWARS) project were executed to intensify communicable disease surveillance. Global public-health intelligence was monitored using Epidemic Intelligence from Open Sources (EIOS). A unified command oversaw all surveillance activities, assessed risks, and made decisions. Results The surveillance system detected and responded to public health threats effectively. The NEP increased disease notifications from healthcare workers by 214%. The EIOS screened ~300,000 articles, identifying three major health events. The MG-EWARS Cell provided daily situational analysis to stakeholders, including insights from indicator-based, event-based, and sentinel-syndromic surveillance. Conclusion The Ministry of Public Health in Qatar successfully implemented novel projects and activities to enhance surveillance of infectious diseases during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™. Early and research-driven planning, use of the latest technology, appropriate training programs, and prudent allocation of resources were the key strategies employed.

Efficacy of the FIFA cooling break heat policy during an intermittent treadmill football simulation in hot conditions in trained males

ObjectiveTo evaluate the efficacy of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) cooling break policy against alternative cooling configurations in attenuating thermal strain during simulated football in the heat.Methods12 males...

Between rhetoric and reality: effects of FIFA’s Human Rights Policy on its organisational structures and procedures

ABSTRACT In a ground-breaking development, The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) responded to the global call for human rights protection within the sports world by adopting a Human Rights Policy. This policy represents a significant paradigm shift, redefining how sports organisations approach and advocate for equality, respect, and accountability in human rights. This article uses a single and explanatory qualitative case study approach to examine the effects of FIFA’s Human Rights Policy on the organisation. Data for this research were obtained through a documentary analysis of reports from FIFA’s Human Rights Advisory Board as well as eight semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders. The study sheds light on transformative changes across the administration of the organisation, its governance structures and decision-making procedures. By building on organisational change models, the study reveals a dual impact of FIFA’s Human Rights Policy. On the one hand, positive outcomes were identified, including significant organisational and administrative changes, increased resources, improvements in the FIFA World Cup bidding process and enhanced stakeholder engagement. On the other, challenges persist in fully integrating human rights throughout the organisation, particularly in leadership, governance structures, political decision-making, and remedy mechanisms.

Will the football agents’ service fee cap survive the current legal attacks?

The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) has set a service fee cap for football agents in its new FIFA Football Agent Regulations (FFAR). The respective regulations came into force on 1 October 2023. The article examines the question—in the negative—of whether this service fee cap is compatible with EU antitrust law. Following an overview of the relevant case law of various German state courts and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the legal issues associated with the initial problem are analysed in detail.

The Dose-Response in Elite Soccer: Preliminary Insights From Menstrual-Cycle Tracking During the FIFA Women's World Cup 2019.

This preliminary study examined the influence of estimated menstrual-cycle (MC)phase on responses to soccer matches and training sessions in preparation for and during the FIFA (Fédération internationale de football association) Women's World Cup 2019. Twenty outfield players representing a national team were tracked over a 45-day period. External (10-Hz global positioning system; total and distance covered at high-metabolic power [≥20W·kg-1]) and internal load measures (minutes ≥80% heart-rate maximum, sessional ratings of perceived exertion) were collected during all training and matches, with single-item wellness measures (fatigue, soreness, sleep quality, and sleep duration) collected each morning prior to activity. MC phase was estimated individually via an algorithm, informed from pretournament survey responses and ongoing symptom reporting (FitrWoman). Model comparison statistics were used to determine the impact of estimated MC phase in nonhormonal contraceptive users (n = 16). Sessional rating of perceived exertion responses to total distances ≥5km were higher during the luteal phase (+0.6-1.0au; P ≤ .0178) versus menstruation (phase 1), but no other observable dose-response trends were observed. Sleep, fatigue, and soreness ratings were not typically associated with MC phase, with the exception of exacerbated fatigue ratings in luteal versus follicular phase 48 hours postmatch (-0.73au, P = .0275). Preliminary findings suggest that estimated MC phase may contribute to the understanding of the dose-response to soccer training and matches.

Between global events and local reverberations: Globalization, local media framing and the 2014 FIFA World Cup

AbstractThis article advances sociological work on globalization processes. It concerns itself with conceptualizations of how the local and global ‘clash’, utilizing Ulrich Beck's work on globalization, cosmopolitanism and power. By employing Brazil's 2014 Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) men's World Cup as a case, this article seeks to build on Beck's theorizations, into the field of football; using the General Law of the World Cup as a symbolic representation for the global/local, interest‐driven interactions between Brazil and FIFA. In particular, this article is concerned with how FIFA's requirements, standards and norms, as imposed on the host nation, were framed within local media and journalistic discourses. The article extends Beck's insights by problematizing how global demands meet local socio‐spatial, legal and cultural contexts and how these demands, seeking to regulate and secure consumption, are resisted by various domestic and localized actors situated within a power game.

An Assessment on the Carbon Footprint of a Football Club—an Action Research from Theory to Practice

There is a lack of academic literature that explores the evaluation of football club’s carbon footprints. To the best of the author’s knowledge, this study is the first study where the football’s club’s overall carbon footprints were assessed. This study’s main objectives were to measure the football club environmental impact and promote the reduction of greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions for famous significant sports events such as the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) matches. The football club is a part of one of the biggest football clubs in Europe, which operates, manages, and maintains various facilities by assisting the football club in decision-making processes to identify the most relevant business engagement areas. The following research questions were considered: (a) What are the hotspots and the most significant contributors to GHG emissions of a football club? (b) How to improve emissions management within the stadium organization? (c) How to establish a carbon reduction and management plan? The researchers visited this stadium to collect data and interview managers of the football club. The GHG assessment results provide some relevant confirmation of the guidelines that emerged during the onsite visit. This study found that indirect emissions produced by a supporter’s transportation mode are equivalent to 38%, followed by energy consumption, accounting for 25% of the total GHG emissions. Specific future recommendations for sports organizations, such as (i) intermediate goal is to cut GHG emissions by at least 50% by 2030 and (ii) model scope 3 emissions and set scope 3 targets if scope 3 emissions account for 40% or more of their overall emissions, have emerged after this study.

The Case of the Soccer World Cup 2022 in Qatar and Sustainability: Comparison of FIFA's Plan (Target) and Public Perception (Actual)

No other mega sporting event has ever been as controversial as the 2022 soccer World Cup in Qatar. This paper does not look at how the World Cup was awarded to Qatar and the role played by corruption and the power of money. Instead, this case study will take a closer look at the sustainability of the event. Was it possible to keep the promises made by Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and the state of Qatar in the run-up to the event? To what extent do FIFA's self-image and the public's perception of it match? In the analysis (target/actual comparison), the dialectical three-step method (with thesis, antithesis, and synthesis) is used.

Shoulder injuries in Brazilian professional football players: epidemiological analysis of 3828 games

ObjectivesFootball is a globally played sport that poses potential risks for musculoskeletal injuries. Upper-limb injuries have a lower incidence rate than lower-limb injuries but can still cause absenteeism and performance impairment in football players. This descriptive epidemiological study aimed to evaluate and compare the epidemiological data on shoulder injuries among professional football players in two major Brazilian football championships. MethodsData were collected throughout the championships, and club physicians medically evaluated each player during official games using two online forms. The collected information included the player's age and position, injury diagnosis, laterality, location on the field where the injury occurred, playing time, imaging examinations performed, need for surgical treatment, time to return to play (TRP), and recurrence of the injury. The incidence of injuries was evaluated using the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) incidence formula. ResultsA total of 107 shoulder injuries were recorded (4.3% of all injuries), with a FIFA incidence of 0.847. Glenohumeral dislocations (GHDs) and acromioclavicular dislocations (ACDs) accounted for 37.38% and 35.51% of all shoulder injuries, respectively. Goalkeepers and defenders presented, respectively, a 2.15 and 1.57 times increased risk of suffering shoulder injuries, while attackers presented a 0.63 times decreased risk. Injury recurrence was observed in 14.95% of cases, with GHDs and ACDs showing recurrence rates of 35.00% and 5.26%, respectively. Surgery was performed in 9.35% of cases, with GHDs representing 50% of all surgeries. The average TRP was 22.37 days, with severe and major injuries accounting for 11.21% and 10.28% of all injuries, respectively. Goalkeepers had the highest average TRP of 36.15 days. Recurring injuries had a higher average TRP of 33.44 days compared to nonrecurring injuries, which had an average TRP of 20.43 days. Surgically treated injuries had the highest average TRP of 112.5 days. ConclusionShoulder injuries in the professional football scenario are of great concern due to the high recurrence rate and need for surgical treatment, which will lead to a long TRP. These findings emphasize the need to implement prevention protocols and effective treatments to reduce the consequences of such injuries, which are usually underestimated in this sport. Level of evidenceIII.

Enforced Ostracism? Analysis of the International Sports Organizations’ Reactions to the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine

The Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 triggered widespread reactions. The global call for the isolation of Russia and its collaborator Belarus has also involved the world of sport, leading to the expulsion of Russian and Belarusian athletes from international competitions. The decisions leading to the expulsion were analyzed from the perspective of their factors, timing, and the international sports organizations’ (ISOs) traditional approach to mixing sport and politics. During these developments, various stakeholders have been exerting pressure on the ISOs by voicing their expectations towards sanctioning Russia and even using the threat of boycott. Multiple Streams Framework has been employed in an attempt to understand the decision-making processes of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), demonstrating that external pressure has played the overriding role in the process leading to the isolation of Russia and Belarus in international sport, marking the continuation of the recent evolution of ISOs’ approach to the interconnection between politics and sport.

Protection rights for football supporters: learning from the tragedy at the Kanjuruhan Stadium in Indonesia

PurposeFootball supporters have safety and security guarantees, but protection rights abuses in the Kanjuruhan Indonesia stadium tragedy. This study aims to create a design regulation to protect the protection rights of football supporters in the world.Design/methodology/approachThis is a socio-legal study. The law, cases and conceptual methods are the research methodologies. The process of collecting data uses a literature review. The gathered facts and information are next examined both qualitatively and descriptively.FindingsThe tragedy that occurred at the Kanjuruhan Stadium is the worst tragedy of Indonesian football. The key factor behind the tragedy was the mechanism for securing football matches regulated in the acts and regulations in Indonesia, which were out of sync and contrary to Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) regulations. The Indonesian National Police Regulation (Perkapolri) permits the use of firearms, tear gas and force, whereas this is actually prohibited by the FIFA Stadium Safety and Security Regulation (FSSSR). In this tragedy, protection rights abuses occurred. Then, the Indonesian Sport Act (ISA) 2022 does not yet regulate crucial matters, especially safety and security in sports competitions to protect players, referees, spectators/supporters and other match organizers.Research limitations/implicationsThis study examines various regulations relating to sports, especially football matches with a focus on studies in Indonesia.Practical implicationsThe results of this research help realize protection rights for football supporters and create designs regulation to protect protection rights for football supporters worldwide.Social implicationsThe design regulation recommended in this study is useful for preventing disasters in football and protecting football supporters, players, referees and parties in matches from acts of violence.Originality/valueLearning from the Kanjuruhan tragedy, to prevent this from happening again, the adoption of the FSSSR into Indonesian legislation, created the Safety of Sports Grounds Act and the establishment of the Indonesian Football Policing Unit are recommendations that need to be considered.

Investor attention during soccer World Cups

PurposeThis study aims to examine investor attention by exploring the trading behavior of investors in US-based exchange traded funds (ETFs) of countries active in the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cups.Design/methodology/approachThe present study employs event study methodology to measure abnormal returns and excess trading volume of country-specific ETFs during six FIFA World Cups. The sample of ETFs includes 19 participating countries.FindingsConsistent with investor behavior that might be explained by attention effect, the study finds that country-specific ETFs from participating countries do indeed behave differently during FIFA World Cups events. The authors find significant evidence of abnormal trading volume and, albeit weaker, abnormal returns during cups.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature on investor behavior, linking investor attention with salient sports events.

Pesan Anti Rasisme dalam Pertandingan Kualifikasi Euro 2020 Belanda vs Estonia di Mola TV

antagonism towards many forms of racism. Instances of racial discrimination and prejudice are prevalent within the domain of football. A diverse range of individuals, including supporters, coaches, athletes, officials overseeing matches, and media members, are accountable for participating in racist practices. The establishment of the Let's Kick Racism Out of Football program by the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) was a direct response to the occurrence of racism within the football community. The primary aim of this research is to investigate the potential existence of an anti-racist message inside the live broadcast of the Netherlands vs Estonia match on Mola TV. The research methodology adopted in this study involves using a descriptive qualitative approach. The methodology utilized in this study is the semiotic approach. The methodology adopted for data analysis is grounded in the principles of semiotics as established by Charles S. Peirce. The theoretical framework utilized in this research is the constructivism paradigm. The present study utilizes the theoretical framework of Social Reality Construction in Mass Media. The results of this study unveiled several forms of anti-racism indicators, encompassing gestures involving bodily motions, observable characteristics, spatial clues, and temporal factors. The match's goal celebration sequences effectively convey an anti-racism tone through the presence of such messages.

여자 축구선수들의 특별한 의학적 문제들과 고려 사항

Football is a sports that the most attention and love from many countries and people regardless of gender around the world. Recently, FIFA (Fédération internationale de football association) has been actively helping female football players around the world with economic and technical support. In addition, FIFA has been making great efforts to revitalize the women's league. In this article, the medical issues that should be considered and examined by team doctors and medical teams and what problems should be particularly concerned in female football players will be divided into three categories to be gone through: sports injury, RED-s(relative energy deficiency in sports) and gender verification. First of all, it is known that the overall percentage of injury for female football players is lower than that of male players, however the rate of serious damage is higher in female football players due to the more frequent the knee anterior cruciate ligament injury and traumatic brain injury. It is important to know that RED-s starts with low energy availability as it progresses it can be a serious problem that deteriorates the health and performance of individual athletes. The issue of gender verification is needed to determine whether this player can participate in the women's competition, and it should be check whether this violates the spirit of fair play.

Game Over for Russian Athletes? Human Rights Aspects of Measures Adopted by International Sports Organisations as a Response to the Russian Aggression against Ukraine

Summary The Russian invasion of Ukraine has tested the mettle of the international community, prompting not only States but also non-state actors to take deterrent action in response. Indeed, international sports organisations, namely the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and the Federation of European Football Associations (UEFA), have been relatively successful in shifting the power dynamics by introducing a complete ban on the Football Union of Russia (FUR), i.e., the Russian national and club teams. This article investigates the human rights implications of such actions by international sports organisations. First, the article departs from an assessment of the legal status of FIFA and UEFA under international law. It reflects how a legal link could be established vis-à-vis their human rights obligations. Second, it examines the human rights aspects of the impugned measures by FIFA and UEFA on the part of the Russian athletes, further scrutinising them against the international human rights law principle of non-discrimination through a proportionality test. Finally, it draws basic pathways for how possible human rights violations committed in the context of measures adopted by such organisations could be remedied, outlining the challenges of arbitration and litigation in Switzerland.

The Practice of Flaming Football Supporters on Ganjar Pranowo's Instagram Account

FIFA (the Federation Internationale de Football Association) withdrew Indonesia from hosting the World Cup U-20 2023. This cancellation caused many peoples to be disappointed. Indonesian national team supporters expressed disappointment in Ganjar Pranowo's Instagram comments because of his stance and statement regarding his refusal of the Israeli national team to compete in Indonesia. This research explores the behavior of Indonesian football fans on Instagram using the SIDE model. This research uses netnography or virtual ethnography because this research focuses on activities in cyberspace. In cyberspace, there is a term called cyberculture. The flaming practice was not come up from a heated debate, but the flaming comments have been keen since users visited Ganjar Pranowo's Instagram account, not creating a space for discussion. Excessive fanaticism or lack of self-control sometimes makes users become actors in flaming production. In addition, anonymity is also a factor in deindividuation occurs. Flaming behavior was found when the apparent norm of previous commenters was being flamed. This research focuses more on the process of user deindividuation using the SIDE model; since this research was conducted in cyberspace, further research can be conducted offline to investigate this behavior.

Impact of LEAN implementation in restocking ambulances in an emergency department and on ambulance rotation within the Hamad Medical Corporation Ambulance Service

Background: With the advent of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup 2022 in Qatar, all healthcare systems were gearing up for an influx of patients. The Hamad Medical Corporation Ambulance Service (HMCAS) has also refined its patient supply chain (SC) processes to improve ambulance turnaround times (ATATs) at the emergency departments (EDs). International ambulance services (AS) are complex, and these ambulances are equipped with approximately 500 individual items, which include various types of medical consumables and equipment used during emergencies. By organizing individual medical items into stock units called “pre-packs”, according to the needs of the patients and type of clinical interventions, the inventory or stock-taking time of items stored in ambulances can be significantly reduced. Implementing reduced inventory lists of items and standardized pre-pack storage across the ambulance fleet has significantly improved the efficiency and accuracy of ambulance checking, restocking, and recovery time, improving overall ATAT at the ED. Aim: This study evaluates the staff’s perceived impact of modular pre-pack kits on ambulance restocking processes and ED ATAT. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a fit-for-purpose survey was designed and distributed to all operational staff at HMCAS. The survey aims to assess HMCAS staff’s opinions about the implemented LEAN pre-pack system. Cronbach’s alpha was calculated to assess the reliability of the survey. The Mann-Whitney U-test was conducted to compare if there was a difference between the group’s opinions. The Shewhart control chart was created to monitor the impact of the implemented intervention on the ATAT at the ED. IBM-SPSS® (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) Version 26 was utilized for data analysis. Results: A group of 287 employees with different backgrounds participated and completed the survey. The Cronbach’s alpha was equal to 0.739, indicating a satisfactory level of reliability of the Mann-Whitney U-test. The descriptive analysis and the Shewhart chart revealed that most staff found that the pre-pack concept helped improve LEAN restocking processes, access to clinical applications, and ambulance checks. Overall, this concept matched the international benchmarks for turnaround time. Conclusion: The pre-pack concept promoted easy and quick processing of clinical applications, restocking procedures, and ambulance checks, and this positively impacted the ATAT at the ED. Further, it improved responses to emergency calls and enhanced access to effective care for patients. This approach also simplified the tasks above when many locum staff is employed on a short-term basis to cover mega-events such as the FIFA World Cup.

Populist Dimensions of Sport Histories

Abstract This article explores the concept of populism to further our understanding of sport-based institutions and discourse and to demonstrate the relevance of “sportive populism” to sport history scholarship. It begins with an account of the application of the concept to strongman populism in historical and contemporary contexts and then focuses on two specific historical cases: the Colosseum in Rome in the first century CE, and the formative discourses of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Based primarily upon secondary sources, analysis of the cases illustrates the interpretive potential of the populist concept for our understanding of a form of sportive populism in the political project of the Colosseum and in the formative discourses and persisting rhetoric of the two international sporting bodies.