Federation Of Association Football Research Articles

The politics and public administration nexus in the practice of football administration in Zimbabwe

The topical focus of the paper is to examine how national sports administration reflects the interconnectedness of politics and public administration in Zimbabwe. To achieve this aim, the paper examines the patron-client relationship between the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) and the ruling political party, the Zimbabwe African National Union–Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF). The paper demonstrates how the interference of ZANU-PF in the management of the ZIFA has soiled the governance and formal administration of the national football administration body. The study reveals that due to constant political manipulation, ZIFA has been marred by allegations of corruption and maladministration, sexual harassment and the marginalization of women and the subsequent suspension by the global football governing body, the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) in February 2022. The paper argues that these challenges are not unique to football administration but are reflective of the broader public administration culture in Zimbabwe, which is entangled with partisan politics. This entanglement has over the years expressed itself through transactional relationships, whereby the ruling ZANU-PF seeks to control football administration for its political and hegemonic purposes. Some individuals have used their political links with ZANU-PF as political capital to both legitimize and entrench their football administration careers. This implies that ZIFA has morphed into a subsidiary of the ruling political establishment, in the process compromising its independence as a football governing and regulatory body. Football administration is therefore a useful lens that can help us understand and theorize on the impact of politics in public administration. Methodologically, the paper utilizes a qualitative research design which included in-depth interviews and document analysis with the intent to capture and express in detail the nexus of politics and football administration in Zimbabwe.

Planning a large‐scale tabletop exercise to test Qatar's healthcare system readiness to respond to a major incident during the 2022 FIFA World Cup

AbstractThis article is an illustration of ‘Lessons from the Field’. The Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management has begun to present lessons coming from professionals engaged in crisis management. ‘Lessons for the Field’ provides insights that can be useful to other professionals. Moreover, ‘Lessons from the Field’ can stimulate ideas for researchers and provide resources for educators. Hosting a mega‐sporting event such as the International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA) World Cup presents many healthcare challenges, especially when organized over a small geographical area with many international supporters potentially increasing the country's normal population by 50%. This article presents how a system‐wide tabletop simulation exercise was planned to test Qatar's healthcare system's readiness to respond to a potential major incident during the FIFA World Cup. The healthcare system‐wide tabletop exercise lasted about 4 h with participants engaging in all the various facilities as expected. It provided opportunities for everyone to put their knowledge of major incident response and mass casualty management into practice. The exercise preparation ensured it ran smoothly for all participants who quickly understood how to engage in the activity. It enabled organizers and participants to identify potential gaps in systems and processes, but also in their own ability to manage such situation.

CURRENT DEVELOPMENT TRENDS OF AMATEUR FOOTBALL IN UKRAINE

Introduction. Scientists studying the development of football emphasize that professional football is a kind of core or top of the conditional structure of the modern football industry, and its basis is amateur football. In this context, it is clear that amateur football is a necessary prerequisite for the effective development of professional football in the country. The purpose of the study is to analyze and systematize the current state and generalize the ways of development of amateur football in Ukraine, taking into account regional aspects for the period 2018-2023. Research methods: analysis and generalization of data from scientific and methodological literary sources and the Internet network, pedagogical observations, content analysis of materials of the official websites of regional football associations, amateur football associations of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Football Association, the International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA) for the period of 2018 -2023 years, methods of mathematical statistics. Results. Quantitative indicators of the representation of teams from regional football associations in the group and final tournaments of the Ukrainian football championships among amateur teams for the period 2018-2023 were analyzed. Conclusions. The analysis of the data of the scientific and methodological literature and the global network "Internet" shows that as criteria for the development of amateur football, it is appropriate to use the general quantitative indicators of the representation of amateur football teams from regional football associations in the Ukrainian football championships among amateur teams and the quantitative indicators of the representation of amateur football teams from respective regional associations in the final tournaments of these competitions. According to quantitative indicators of participation in championships of Ukraine, among amateur teams, the leaders are Dnipropetrovsk Oblast (15 teams) and Kyiv City Football Association (13 teams). According to the quantitative indicators of the teams' participation in the final tournaments, the leaders are the representatives of the Sumy and Cherkasy regional football associations, whose teams, in four seasons, participated in the final tournaments of the championship of Ukraine in football among amateur teams three times

The Psychology and Motivations of Sports Fans

With the number of fans growing each year, the world’s fascination with sports is nothing new—for example, FIFA (International Federation of Association Football) estimates that there are five billion soccer fans around the world. However, even with the worldwide obsession with sports, little is understood about the origins of a fan’s enticement, or even the psychology of a fan. The standing research done on this subject confronts this question with complexity when in reality, it should be faced with simplicity. This study attempts to add to the knowledge of the psychology and motivation of a sports fan by simplifying the approach. A survey was designed to reveal a participant’s background involving sports and motivations for becoming a sports fan. In the study, there were 41 participants, each self-categorized to a priority level—first, high, medium, and low—that indicated the extent that sports were to their daily lives. Each answer was compared both within and outside the group, with each trend and outlier being noted. It was found that the first and high-priority participants demonstrated strong support and pride for their team, while the medium and low-priority participants did not carry the same passion. The results of the study revealed that there were three dominant motivations for someone becoming a sports fan: desire for a sense of community, excitement/entertainment, and being influenced by a player from their country and the more someone becomes a devoted fan the more emotional involvement they will have with their object of support.

An Alternative Soft Set Approach for Identifying Football Conflict: A Case Study of Indonesian Football Super League

Conflict situations in football have become a significant issue because they affect the players, supporters, referees, management team, the governing body of football, and the government. As time passes, the discovery of conflicts within the football industry has also become increasingly diverse; both affected in-game or out of the game. In 2015, Indonesia had no activity in football for almost a year when the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) banned the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) from competing in international competitions until the conflict among their internal agents was resolved. The agents involved in this highly controversial ban include the Commission 10 of the Parliament of Indonesia, the National Sports Committee of Indonesia (KONI), the Indonesian President, and the Ministry of Youth and Sport of Indonesia. Conflict resolution strategies outside the football games are delicate and more challenging to overcome due to the involvement of the government and various governing bodies. This opens to higher unpredictability in modeling the conflict situations, hence a lower possibility of a successful conflict resolution model strategy. In addressing this gap, this paper proposes a new Computational Intelligence approach based on the Soft Set Theory, where an alternative algorithm is derived from modeling the conflict situations. We then delineated the proposed algorithm for an instructional example of the Indonesian football conflict situation in 2015 concerning the Indonesia Football Super League. The results showed that the proposed algorithm successfully handled conflict and recommended the Indonesian football agents involved, including PSSI and FIFA.

A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials on the Effectiveness of Exercise Intervention in Preventing Sports Injuries

Athletes risk injury every day during practice sessions and actual games, with the majority of the affected population being young males. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2011-2014 report on sport and recreation-related injuries in the United States has consistently shown the average annual estimate of the millions of dollars spent on sport and recreation injuries. These injuries translate to a significant financial implication for the athlete, the team, the health system, and the public health.We composed a review protocol. We enumerated our inclusion and exclusion criteria, injury definition, and search strategy. We searched PubMed and SPORTDiscus. Then we used Forrest plots for the meta-analysis of the relevant selected studies. We used various keywords in our search strategy. These included “injury,” “sports,” “exercise,” “prevention,” “techniques,” and every possible combination of them. Search results showed 2516 hits with our keywords, and we included 20 of those results.Twenty trials, including 19712 individuals with 2855 injuries, were analyzed. Eccentric Training relative risk (RR) of 0.54 (95% CI 0.395 to 0.739 with X2 of p < 0.05) showed that the risk of the injury was decreased by 54% in the intervention group compared to the control group. In the neuromuscular training group, a RR of 0.682 (95% CI 0.621 to 0.749 with X2 of p < 0.001) showed that the risk of the injury was decreased by 68.2% in its intervention group subgroup compared to its control group. Also, the “11” International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) program had a RR of 0.771, indicating that there was a 77.1% decrease in injury by this set of exercises (95% CI 0.728 to 0.816 with X2 of p < 0.05), and this “11” FIFA program also had the most preventative effects. Warm-up had a RR of 0.843 (95% CI 0.749 to 0.949 with X2 of p < 0.05) and showed small prevention. Strength Training RR of 0.97 (95% CI 0.57 to 1.63 with X2 of p > 0.05) had no preventive effect.Our analysis showed that different exercises have preventive roles in sports injuries. The warm-up FIFA, neuromuscular training, and eccentric training reduced the risk of injury in the intervention group compared to the control group by a high percentage. At the same time, neuromuscular warm-up and FIFA 11 dynamic warm-up also decreased the relative risk of injury in the intervention group. These effects varied among exercise type, injury type, and sport.

Power and Politics in World Athletics: A Critical History

The International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF) has escaped the kind of scholarly attention that has been given to the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC). This is surprising because, as Jörg Krieger discusses in this monograph, elements of the organizational histories of the IOC and the IAAF overlap. Nonetheless, Krieger has now rectified this historiographical gap. The picture is not always a pretty one, and without Kreiger's work we may never have seen it at all. As the author discusses in the introduction, the IAAF was tetchy about offering access to its archives in the first place.Krieger's thesis is that the IAAF has been autocratically controlled on behalf of its presidents and that the long arm of history reaches well into the twenty-first century. IAAF presidents’ pronouncements on gender, race, “fair play,” politics, and international relations have been taken as received wisdom, irrespective of any scientific, historical, or ethical truths which might disprove them. Sport economics and cultural tone may have changed since the IAAF's 1913 foundation, and the association has had to adjust to those realities, but even now, it remains (even if recently renamed as the more grandiose World Athletics) a vehicle for its presidents’ ambitions.The author's approach is chronological, with chapters coinciding with IAAF presidents and eras of their reigns. The IAAF was initially formed out of low-key conflict with the IOC over who would act as the world governing body of athletics and how to adjudicate rules. In the end, it was Sweden and the United States who would drive the early creation of the IAAF, creating an arrangement where the IAAF would remain amateur (placating the IOC) while acknowledging the right of national bodies to interpret amateur/professional conflicts for themselves. Swedish industrialist Sigfrid Edström was the first to maneuver his way into the presidency. Notably, when the First World War suspended international sport and IAAF Congress meetings, he rewrote organizational statutes and sacked board members who stood in his way.Krieger argues all subsequent presidents have benefitted from this, with Edström establishing a template for dealing with external threats. Thanks to Edström, it would be the IAAF's role to define gender equality and femininity within athletics. The early success of the French Women's Sporting Federation (FSFSF) led Edström on a ruthless campaign against its general secretary, Alice Milliat, for the purposes of co-opting women's sport under the IAAF banner—thus limiting the number of events women would be allowed to compete in. Edström's successor, English aristocrat David Burghley, accelerated moves begun under Edström for sex testing, with suspicion of “gender fraud” usually being politically and racially motivated. Burghley's humorous comments about women athletes being forced to parade naked for inspection by all-male doctors has clear echoes in current president Sebastian Coe's treatment of the South African runner Caster Semenya.The IAAF also sought to uphold the racial and international relations order. Archival evidence found by Krieger shows Edström's favorable treatment of Nazi Germany may have been linked to his own anti-Semitism. Burghley devised a voting system at IAAF Congresses whereby European and North American nations were given a far greater share of votes. More difficult to prove was that the IAAF appeared to bend the rules on doping to suit influential nations it wanted to keep on its side. The exception to this lack of proof regarding doping, of course, is the Senegalese Lamine Diack, convicted in 2020 of accepting bribes from Russian officials over anti-doping. The inference is clear: not every IAAF president has been treated the same. The flamboyant Primo Nebiolo, president during the 1980s and 1990s, may have had conspicuously expensive taste, but he was also a deft political operator, doing deals to ensure greater power of Global South countries in exchange for buying into his vision of an IAAF based on modern marketing and long-term television contracts. The IAAF's inaugural World Championship in 1983 was itself partly a creation of a marketing push by Horst Dassler of Adidas. Nebiolo thus echoed João Havelange's presidency of FIFA.Krieger believes that the IAAF's/World Athletics’ most consistent sin has been the maintenance of a system that has never placed the welfare of athletes at its heart. In fact, the author views the spectacle of an empty, hot stadium at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar, as a fitting monument to IAAF presidents who see in un-democratic nations a reflection of themselves. We await the critical histories of international federations in other sports. In the meantime, we can purchase a copy of Krieger's excellent book for our own university libraries, as he has given one possible template for how they might be written.

FIFA Diplomacy and Global Actors’ Interests in Cyprus: An Unsuccessful ‘Alliance’, 2013–2019

ABSTRACT This analysis unveils the convergence of the International Federation of Association Football’s [FIFA] football reunification initiatives and the interests of global actors with an interest in solving the Cyprus problem. In 2013, at FIFA’s headquarters in Zurich, Turkish-Cypriot and Greek-Cypriot football officials signed a historic provisional agreement to reunite the two communities in football. That prospect might also act as a catalyst towards the island’s political unification, and for that reason, it was welcomed by global actors for different reasons. For some, hydrocarbon exploration licencing by a united government of Cyprus would not be questioned. However, those loyal to Turkey and the Turkish-Cypriot political elite managed to thwart FIFA’s initiative to serve Turkey’s goals as a regional Power, that is, solve the Cyprus problem on its own terms and assume a role in the hydrocarbon regime in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Role of tattoos in football: Behavioral patterns and success—analysis of the FIFA World Cup 2018

Epidemiologic studies suggest that individuals with tattoos are more extroverted, aggressive, and more likely to take risks than individuals with no tattoos. Whether these personality traits affect athletic performance is uncertain. We compared behavioral patterns and rates of success of football players at the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) World Cup 2018 by tattoo status. In this cross-sectional study, 32.7% of football players had visible tattoos (241 of 736), mostly on their arms (97.1%). Footballers with tattoos played longer on average (208 versus 160 minutes; P < .001), received more cards (.38 versus .27; P < .001), and committed more fouls per player (2.64 versus 2.2; P < .001). Players with tattoos attempted more shots at goal (P = .016), but without higher goal success (P = .204). The higher number of disciplinary events (being whistled for fouls and given yellow or red cards) and longer playing time of football players with tattoos may reflect personality traits reported in nonathletic individuals with tattoos, such as dominance, extroversion, aggressiveness, and willingness to take risks.

International sports organizations as diplomatic actors. The case of FIFA exerting influence on states

Współczesna dyplomacja przyjmuje coraz bardziej sieciową formę, co objawia się zaangażowaniem nowych aktorów, w tym międzynarodowych organizacji sportowych. Artykuł poświęcony jest zagadnieniu dyplomacji sportowej organizacji sportowych kontrolujących międzynarodową rywalizację sportową, na przykładzie Międzynarodowej Federacji Piłki Nożnej (FIFA). Badanie, którego dotyczy artykuł, stanowi studium przypadku poświęcone kwestii wywierania przez międzynarodową organizację sportową nacisku na rządy suwerennych państw, na przykładzie FIFA. Celem badania jest sprawdzenie czy organizacje sportowe są w stanie sprawić, aby rządy zmieniły swoje decyzje polityczne. Hipoteza, która została poddana weryfikacji zakłada, iż międzynarodowe organizacje sportowe są podmiotami dyplomatycznymi zdolnymi wpływać na państwa.

Adaptation Of Architectural Solutions Of Large-Span Translucent Coverings Of Football Stadiums Of Russia To Work In The “Heritage” Mode

Requirements for architectural and construction solutions of large-span translucent coverings of football stadiums imposed on the basis of the current legislation of the Russian Federation and the relevant standards of the International Federation of Football Associations, based on experience in the design, construction and operation of the 2018 FIFA World Cup facilities, are considered. The reasons for the requirement changes, caused by the transfer of ownership of sports facilities to subjects of the Russian Federation, and a change in the nature of the objects operation in the "Heritage" mode, are established. The diversity in the understanding of the tasks of a stadium architectural organization by specialists, involved in match arrangements, and the operational service, responsible for the break-even use of the facility as a multifunctional cultural and sports entertainment complex are identified. Priorities for adaptation of architectural solutions of large-span translucent coatings stadiums to changing conditions are established. Data on peculiarities of projects of Grand Sports Arena “Luzhniki” in Moscow and “Yekaterinburg Arena” are presented. The available experience in operation of the named structures since the completion of their reconstruction is generalized. The prospects of development of architecture of large-span translucent coverings of stadiums in the future are proposed.

The neutrality myth: why international sporting associations and politics cannot be separated

ABSTRACTInternational sporting associations (ISAs) like the International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA), the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) have throughout the twentieth century promoted political neutrality as a source of autonomy. With FIFA and the IOC’s official adherence to the United Nations’ human rights conventions in 2017, FIA remains one of the few large ISAs where neutrality is not underpinned by a corrective on human rights. However, this position is in conflict with the ethical obligations FIA contracted when it was given full recognition by the IOC in 2013. To discuss this problematic, this paper draws upon J.S. Mill’s On Liberty and the concept of ‘inaction’ as a source for ways in which the FIA might reconsider its current stance.Abbreviations: IOC (International Olympic Committee); FIA (Federation Internationale de l'Automobile); FIFA (International Federation of Football Associations); ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross); ISA (International Sporting Associations); UEFA (Union of European Football Associations)

Neoliberalization and mega-events: The transition of Rio de Janeiro’s hybrid urban order

ABSTRACTThe current developments in Rio de Janeiro in the wake of the 2014 International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympic Games have accelerated the transition from a hybrid urban order to a new urban order of intensified neoliberalization and commodification. This transition is a complex and contradictory process that entails both rollback and rollout features of neoliberalism, as well as a permanent restructuring of sociospatial relations and political arrangements. By discussing the ongoing policies and politics of urban restructuring, we examine the creative destruction of urban structures, institutional arrangements, and regulations of urban space with the transformation of 3 sites in Rio de Janeiro—Barra da Tijuca, the port district, and the South Zone. The process of variegated neoliberalization generates new modes of production and reproduction, which threaten the principles of democratic governance and universalization of rights to the city.

A race towards credibility: the 2009 and 2013 presidential election campaigns at the F\xe9d\xe9ration Internationale de l\u2019Automobile (FIA)

Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), the governing body of world motorsports, is one of many Global Sport Governing Bodies (GSGBs) facing increasing demands for good governance. By inadequately complying with international guidelines on organizational conduct these organizations, which are independent and powerful actors in global society, have received criticism from a broad range of actors. However, compared with other GSGBs like the International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the FIA is uncharted territory. Through a qualitative document analysis (QDA) of the FIA presidential election campaigns in 2009 and 2013 this article therefore aims to fill this gap by examining the candidates’ struggle for credibility with stakeholders on the key principles of good governance: democratic representation, transparency and accountability. Drawing upon campaign material and articles in newspapers and in motoring magazines covering the elections, the analysis demonstrates that all FIA presidential candidates advocated a strong emphasis on these principles, but were vague as to how they should be put into practice. Moreover, the candidates’ attempt to procure credibility for themselves and for the FIA by raising the issue of good governance seemingly gained them few votes. Of several possible reasons for this two can be highlighted: first, because the FIA membership had more faith in the winning candidate’s ability to develop a stakeholder-effective FIA; second, because the FIA membership did not regard the credibility of the organization itself as being dependent on the adoption of good governance practices.

Injury Prevention Exercise Programs for Professional Soccer: Understanding the Perceptions of the End-Users.

To evaluate the perceptions of professional soccer players and staff members toward injury prevention exercise programs (IPEPs). Self-report survey. Four professional soccer teams in 4 different countries. 126 players, coaches, physiotherapists, and fitness coaches were invited to participate, with 72 respondents. Web-based survey detailing perceptions of lower limb (LL) injury susceptibility and seriousness, the value of IPEPs in general, and more specifically the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) 11+. The vast majority of the respondents believed that professional soccer players are at high risk of LL injuries (93%) and that players should perform evidence-based injury prevention exercises (98%). They also agreed that LL injuries can shorten a player's career (85%), cause physical problems later in life (82%), and negatively impact on team performance (77%). However, perceptions varied across teams regarding which types of injury prevention exercises are effective, who holds responsibility for injury prevention, and when IPEPs should be performed. Specific knowledge of the FIFA 11+ was very low and 47% of respondents believed the program would need modification for use in their team. Players and staff members in professional soccer teams strongly support the use of evidence-based IPEPs. However, perceptions vary considerably between teams regarding which exercises can prevent injuries, who holds the responsibility for injury prevention, and when preventive exercises should be performed. Enhancing the ultimate impact of IPEPs in professional soccer requires a detailed understanding of each team's specific implementation context.

Injuries in professional male football players in Kosovo: a descriptive epidemiological study.

BackgroundThe incidence and severity of football-related injuries has been found to differ strongly between professional leagues from different countries. The aims of this study were to record the incidence, type and severity of injuries in Kosovarian football players and investigate the relationship between injury incidence rates (IRs), players’ age and playing positions.MethodsPlayers’ age, anthropometric characteristics and playing positions, training and match exposure as well as injury occurrences were monitored in 11 teams (143 players) of Kosovo’s top division during the 2013/14 season. The exact type, severity and duration of football-related injuries were documented following International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA) recommendations.ResultsA total of 272 injuries were observed, with traumatic injuries accounting for 71 %. The overall injury IR was 7.38 (CI: 7.14, 7.63) injuries per 1,000 exposure hours and ~11x lower during training as opposed to matches. Strains and ruptures of thigh muscles, ligamentous injuries of the knee as well as meniscus or other cartilage tears represented the most frequent differential diagnoses. While no statistical differences were found between players engaged in different playing positions, injury IR was found to be higher by 10–13 % in younger (IR = 7.63; CI: 7.39, 7.87) as compared to middle-aged (IR = 6.95; CI: 6.41, 7.54) and older players (IR = 6.76; CI: 5.71, 8.00).ConclusionsThe total injury IR in elite football in Kosovo is slightly lower than the international average, which may be related to lesser match exposure. Typical injury patterns agree well with previously reported data. Our finding that injury IR was greater in younger players is related to a higher rate of traumatic injuries and may indicate a more aggressive and risky style of play in this age group.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12891-016-1202-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Landing impact analysis of sport surfaces using three-dimensional finite element model

Shock absorbance, or force reduction, is the most significant parameter in sport surfaces which has been used as an injury prevention criterion. Many sport federations like the International Association of Athletics Federations, the International Federation of Association Football and the International Hockey Federation have arranged force reduction tests for sport surfaces which are performed by an apparatus called the Artificial Athlete Berlin. As this apparatus has been designed for simulating a normal subject at usual conditions, some major details are neglected. In this article, a finite element model, which included the human lower limb and a standard sport surface, was developed and is capable of extracting force reduction parameters in various sport conditions. The viscoelastic behavior of the sport surface was extracted by compression stress-relaxation tests with various strain rates to import into the finite element model. To calculate the shock absorbance of the sport surface, the contact pressure versus time curves were plotted for the top and bottom layers of the sport surface. The difference between peak values of curves was extracted as the sport surface shock absorbance ability. To validate the proposed model, a finite element model which included the Artificial Athlete Berlin apparatus was simulated. The results present an excellent correlation between the proposed and the Artificial Athlete Berlin apparatus models. Also, the shock absorption value obtained by the proposed model was close to the average value reported by the ASTM F2772 standard which the sport surface meets.

Analysis of FIFA’s Attempt at Image Repair

This study analyzes the response by the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) after its top officials were arrested for corruption early in 2015. FIFA’s response included President Sepp Blatter’s brief address to FIFA Congress. In the days that followed, Mr. Blatter also gave a television interview and appeared in other media events where he attempted to repair the organization’s image. The analysis focuses on the effectiveness of FIFA’s attempt at image repair. First, it uses Benoit’s image repair theory (IRT) to analyze FIFA’s rhetoric. Second, it conducts a thematic analysis of content from 215 publications in eight newspapers selected from four continents during three crises stages. The results indicate that FIFA failed in its attempt to repair its image following the corruption crisis.

Analysis of FIFA referees and assistant referees’ motivational factors towards the Multimedia Teaching Materials

The aim of our study is to improve the understanding of the different behavioral intentions of referees and assistant referees in different FIFA (International Federation of Association Football) confederations towards Multimedia Teaching Materials as learning tools. To achieve this goal, we carry out a survey of 214 elite referees and assistant referees and we propose a research model with the variables perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, perceived enjoyment, perceived self-efficacy, multimedia instruction, previous experience with technology and self-paced learning. These variables were taken from previous educational technology research. Among these models we mainly take into account the Technology Acceptance Model, the Motivational Model and the Social Cognitive Theory. To assess the relationships between the constructs, we develop an analysis based on a Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), specifically Partial Least Squares (PLS). The results of this study confirm that referees and assistant referees are willing to use Multimedia Teaching Materials to assist them in their learning activities as long as they perceive the materials to be useful, enjoyable and easy to use and whenever the course contents are multimedia.

PROTECTING PRIVATE TRANSNATIONAL AUTHORITY AGAINST PUBLIC INTERVENTION: FIFA'S POWER OVER NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS

Scholars have engaged in discussions over whether the rise of transnational private authority is beneficial or undermines public legitimate authority. While the recent focus on civil regulation has emphasized the key role of public authorities and civil societies in such arrangements, the case of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) provides strong evidence that global policies can be formulated and administered by completely private institutions relying on strong enforcement mechanisms and able to confront public authorities. FIFA's power results from its control of market access to global football, which represents a vital ‘club good’ for national football industries. Therefore, FIFA is able to force European Union member states to deviate from national paths of sport regulation. Without orchestrating their efforts, public authorities are unlikely to succeed in challenging FIFA's power. Although the recent corruption scandals might force FIFA to implement some reforms, FIFA has a vital interest in protecting its regulatory powers.