Reformer Mark Pieth Says Sponsors, Swiss Government Should Watch FIFA Closely

FIFA reformer Mark Pieth has said that "sponsors should take a bigger interest" in the way football's world governing body is run, according to Brian Homewood of REUTERS. During a presentation to the "Play the Game" conference in Aarhus, Denmark, Pieth added that the Swiss government "could also do more to prod Zurich-based FIFA to change its ways." Pieth said, "It's bit of a sad story that the sponsors haven't come out more forcibly and I think we should encourage them to do so. My suggestion to the sponsors would be to take this governance reform very seriously." Pieth said that "recent events in Brazil, which is hosting the 2014 World Cup, may have forced sponsors to think differently." Pieth: "I think for the first time in Brazil, they have realized the buying (sponsoring) of such an event can also turn to a disadvantage ... if your name is associated on television with unrest all the time" (REUTERS, 10/30).