When FIFA Audit & Compliance Committee Independent Chair Domenico Scala unveiled a series of "sweeping reform proposals," he aimed "squarely at FIFA’s executive committee," according to Joshua Robinson of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. His changes "are designed to strip the body of most of its power, remove its responsibilities in the day-to-day running of FIFA and subject it to increased internal and external scrutiny." What the reforms will not do "is scrap the long list of perks executive committee members have enjoyed for years." People familiar with FIFA compensation said that the custom-tailored suits for members "will stay, along with an annual stipend in the region" of $300,000. They "will still fly to FIFA headquarters in Zurich with a pair of free first-class tickets and sleep there in world-class hotels." They "will continue accessing caches of complimentary tickets to the sport’s biggest matches." FIFA "declined to comment on the perks received by its Executive Committee members, referring instead to a note on compensation published in its 2014 financial report." Outside analysis found that it was "within the range" for compensation at organizations with similar reach and turnover. All "for a job that involves attending around five meetings a year." FIFA officials said that the attitude inside the underground committee chamber "breeds a culture where gifts are offered and expected." Now the exec committee "will be asked, in effect, to torpedo its modern incarnation." Scala "will ask it to vote on most of the reforms this week." The most significant change "involves snatching back" all non-football related functions from the committee. The day-to-day running of FIFA, a non-profit organization with cash reserves of $1.52B, "would be handed to a permanent management board." The exec committee, meanwhile, "would become a governing body charged with strategic matters and supervision." None of this "includes the perks." FIFA "does not discuss the lifestyle of its top officials." But "it caught the attention of former federal prosecutor Michael J. Garcia, who was hired to investigate the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup." In scathing sections of his confidential report, a person familiar with the report said he directly highlighted the committee’s "culture of entitlement" (WSJ, 9/22).
