A pressure group has called for a new FIFA reform commission to lead a "fundamental overhaul" of football's "scandal-hit" world governing body, according to Owen Gibson of the London GUARDIAN. Speaking at the New FIFA Now summit in Brussels, U.K. MP Damian Collins said the new commission "should be overseen by a body such as Unesco and given the power to publish all outstanding corruption inquiries." Meanwhile, former U.K. Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe said that an "influential House of Commons select committee will be granted access" to the FA's confidential files on the "contentious 2018 World Cup bidding race." Sutcliffe: "I think part of this file was compiled using the intelligence services. The FA have been very cagey about it all. They were reluctant at first and said we could not see it, that it was restricted -- clearly it’s not. Public money was used on the bid from the bidding cities and the government was asked to give guarantees, so we need to know about this." Collins said that the new group "would call for term limits and an independent and separate reform commission with proper protection for whistleblowers." He said there should be "full transparency, with minutes of all meetings published, live streaming of executive committee meetings and full declarations of interest." Belgian MEP Ivo Belet said: "We have to stop talking and do something" (GUARDIAN, 1/21). The PA reported Former FA and England 2018 Chair David Triesman said last month the FA "apparently also have a secret dossier with potential evidence of corruption" which it had not made available to "previous investigations into his allegations of corruption surrounding the World Cup bid." Triesman, who was forced to step down as FA and bid chairman six months before the '10 vote, has "previously made a number of allegations in Parliament about World Cup bidding corruption and malpractice by FIFA members" (PA, 1/21).
