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Fédération

Internationale de Football Association London International Model United Nations

21st Session | 2020

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Table of Contents

Introduction to the Committee 6

Topic A: Dealing with Corruption in FIFA 8

Introduction 8

Key Definitions 9

Timeline of Events/ Discussion of Topic 11

Bloc Position 20

Conclusion 21

Further Reading 22

Topic B: 2021 FIFA Club World Cup, Bidding Process 28

Introduction 29

Definitions 30

Timeline of Events 31

Discussion 35

Bloc Positions 36

Conclusion 38

Further Reading 39

Bibliography 40

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Distinguished delegates of the FIFA Committee,

We would like to welcome you to LIMUN 2020. We are more than proud to

have you in our committee and we do hope that you will have a fruitful time

while debating upon crucial issues within the FIFA sessions. Your devotion,

hard work and responsibility are required not only during the conference

but also before your arrival in the magical city of London. You will have to

conduct detailed research to k´ow your country’s policy and be able to think

of innovative solutions for our topics. That consists a prerequisite so that

you can have a unique experience. We firmly believe that this study guide

will become food for thought to you who are accepting the challenge of

writing an excellent resolution at the end of LIMUN. Apart from that, we do

hope that all of you will leave the conference with a better understanding

of how the UN works.

We look forward to hearing your ideas this February; simultaneously we

promise that we will do our best so that these days will become an

unforgettable MUN story.

Good luck! Ángel Navarrete Torres & Alexia - Ileana Salmon

INTRODUCTION LETTER

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Director – Ángel Navarrete Torres

Hello, fellow delegates, and welcome to one of the most exciting

committees in LIMUN 2020, FIFA!

Let me introduce myself: I was lucky enough to be born, in 1997, in the

most beautiful city the world has ever seen, Granada, located in the south

of Spain. I had always considered myself as someone who never liked

diplomacy, following my perception of it as something really inactive and

incapable of solving complex problems and that the only element that gives

you power in this world is money.

However, once I entered the University of Navarra, where I currently study

my 5th year of Economics, Leadership and Governance, I realised that

diplomacy is useful, but it may only work correctly when personal interests,

money and corruption are not the factors that move the world. Combining

this way of living (immoral, but way of living) with my passion for sports,

in my 13th MUN, the 4th one in London, is just magical.

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Assistant Director - Alexia Ileana Salmon

Dear Delegates,

My name is Alexia Salmon and I have finished my bachelor studies in the

department of International Relations & Diplomacy at the University of

Piraeus, in Athens, Greece. I am a 22-year-old Greek/French girl who

decided in 2018 to spend a semester studying international law and

economics at Sciences Po as an Erasmus student. I have always been

passionate about public speaking, international affairs and diplomacy. This

is the main reason why I started my MUN journey back in 2016. Over the

last four years, I have participated both as a delegate and a chairperson in

many simulations of the UN, of European & Regional organisations in

Greece and internationally such as EUropaS., BISMUN, MILMUN, PIMUN,

RhodesMRC etc. I have also served for almost 2 years as the President of

the MUN Society of my university.

I firmly believe that MUN experiences can be exciting as well as life

changing, since you meet people from every possible corner of this world

and you have the opportunity to create an everlasting story with them.

I am eagerly waiting to meet in person my FIFA delegates so as to impart

the love I have for simulations and to make LIMUN 2020 an unforgettable

MUN journey for you all! Be patient, be strong, work hard and come enjoy

the FIFA games.

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Introduction to the

Committee

The Fédération International de Football Association is a non-profit

organization which is considered an international governing body mainly

concentrating its operation in the filed of football. It was founded in 1904

from the national associations of France, Germany, the Netherlands,

Denmark, Switzerland and Sweden and today consists of 211 national

associations. The main goals of the committee include: the growth of

football in the international level, the accessibility of football for everyone

as well as the fair play with integrity. The FIFA Committee is responsible

for the organisation and promotion of some football tournaments such as

the World Cup and the Women’s World Cup. However, FIFA cannot control

the rules of football games since the International Football Association

Board is responsible of their creation. FIFA, as a member of the

aforementioned Association has to implement these rules and make sure

that during all international games the procedure is followed properly1.

As a world governing body, FIFA plays a significant role for all

international sporting federations in the sectors of governance, regulations

and reports while cooperating with legal and accounting specialists. More

specifically, FIFA is considered of 8 committees which operate in different

fields that affect the football world. Those committees are namely: the

Development Committee, the Finance Committee, the Football

Stakeholders Committee, the Governance Committee and Review

1 (FIFA). (2019). FIFA Governance Regulations (FGR). Zurich, Switzerland: FIFA

Committee. Retrieved from https://resources.fifa.com/image/upload/fifa-governance-

regulations-2016-2112075.pdf?cloudid=hoqftq5c00zsy25kio1y

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Committee, the Medial Committee, the Member Associations Committee,

the Player’s Status Committee and the Referees Committee2.

The FIFA President holds the highest office at FIFA. He is elected for a

period of 4 years by the member associations represented at the FIFA

Congress which can vote and be also re-elected. The FIFA Statutes

implements the rights and responsibilities of the President. The President

has to preside over the FIFA Congress, Executive and Emergency

Committee meetings and others. According to the statutes, the congress is

the supreme body of the organization. At this forum a variety of articles

dictates which issues have to be discussed and which decisions must be

taken. Its form is legislative and that is why it is responsible for developing

the game, the nature of which has been subject to rapid change over the

past few years. At this point it is important to mention that each member

has one vote at the Congress. In order to separate powers, the Ethics

Committee which operates independently is established as the third judicial

body under the auspice of the FIFA Code of Ethics. The Ethics Committee

is supervising the entire football community and helps in tackling current

challenges such as the illegal betting, bribery and other prohibited

activities. According to the Code of Ethics, disciplinary sanctions can be

imposed on offending officials, players, player’s agents and match agents3.

Moving on to the Committee’s mandate, it is significant to mention that

football may be a simple game, but its circumstances keep changing day

by day. FIFA must take into account a wide range of developments and

other factors and decide on numerous issues in accordance with football

2 FIFA Statutes. (June 2019). FIFA Statutes: regulations governing the application of the

statutes. Zurich, Switzerland. FIFA. Retrieved from https://resources.fifa.com/image/upload/fifa-statutes-5-august-2019-

en.pdf?cloudid=ggyamhxxv8jrdfbekrrm

3 FIFA. (2018). How FIFA Works. Zurich, Switzerland, FIFA. Retrieved from

https://www.fifa.com/governance/how-fifa-works/index.html

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and its regulations. Its main goal is to conduct a financial statement and

an annual report concerning decisions and recommendations about

challenges and issues of football4.

Topic A: Dealing with

Corruption in FIFA

Introduction

4 FIFA. (2019). FIFA Code of Ethics. Zurich, Switzerland. Retrieved from

https://resources.fifa.com/image/upload/fifa-code-of-ethics-2019-

version.pdf?cloudid=la3f5yqsox5cns9oypkg

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Football is played in every country, territory, and remote island on

this globe from South Korea to Antartica and more. Since its founding in

1904, FIFA has made its primary goal to encourage and promote

international football. With no surprise, football has become immensely

profitable in Europe and the World Cup generates billions of dollars for FIFA.

However, at a global level, football has endured many decades of illegal

activities such as gambling, match-fixing, bribery, money laundering, tax

evasion and corruption generally. Today the list of football scandals seems

endless.

It has affected many countries such as Brazil, China, France, Greece,

Portugal, Romania, Italy, Poland, South Africa, Yugoslavia and many more5.

According to Transparency International research conducted in 2017, 53%

of the fans responding had no confidence in FIFA and 46% didn't believe

that FIFA was trying to solve the issues and fight against corruption in

football. Of the 25,000 participants who responded, the majority mentioned

match-fixing and bribing of referees as the main challenges that FIFA has

to concur6.

Our goal as the FIFA Committee during LIMUN 2020 Conference is to

debate the corruption level of FIFA and think of innovative, but most

importantly practical ways to fight corruption in the field of football.

Key Definitions

5 Naby L. (October 2017). Managing the Reputation of the Federation International

Association (FIFA): The case of the corruption crisis. Public Relations Journal, Egypt. Retrieved from https://prjournal.instituteforpr.org/wp-content/uploads/FIFA-

Corruption.pdf

6 Unger D. (2 March 2017). FIFA must do more to win back trust of football fans.

Transparency International. Retrieved from https://www.transparency.org/news/feature/fifa_must_do_more_to_win_back_trust_of_

football_fans

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In order to feel more familiar with the concept of corruption in the football

sector, it is of utmost importance to know the exact meaning of some

keywords which are related to our issue.

• Corruption: According to Transparency International “corruption is the

abuse of entrusted power for private gain. It can be classified as grand,

petty and political, depending on the amounts of money lost and the

sector where it occurs”.7

• Bribery: According to the Collins Dictionary “bribery is the act of offering

someone money or something valuable in order to persuade them do

something for you”.8

• Gambling: According to dictionary.com “gambling is the activity or

practice of playing at a game of chance for money or other stakes. It is

an act or practice of risking the loos of something important by taking a

chance or acting recklessly”.9

• Match-Fixing: According to Cambridge dictionary “match-fixing is a

dishonest activity to make sure that one team wins a particular sports

match”.10

• Money Laundering: According to Investopedia “money Laundering is

the process of making large amounts of money generated by a criminal

activity such as drug trafficking or terrorist funding, appear to have come

from a legitimate source. The money from the criminal activity is

7 Transparency International (2018). What is Corruption?. Transparency International.

Retrieved from https://www.transparency.org/what-is-corruption

8 Collins Dictionary. (2018). Definition of bribery. Collins Dictionary. Retrieved from

https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/bribery

9 Dictionary (2019). Gambling. Dictionary. Retrieved from

https://www.dictionary.com/browse/gambling

10 Cambridge Dictionary. (2019). Meaning of Match-fixing. Cambridge, UK, Cambridge

Dictionary. Retrieved from https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/match-

fixing

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considered dirty, and the process “launders” it to make it look clean.

Money laundering is itself a crime”.11

• Tax evasion: According to Investopedia “tax evasion is an illegal activity

in which a person or entity deliberately avoids paying a true tax liability.

Those caught evading taxes are generally subject to criminal charges and

substantial penalties. To wilfully fail to pay taxes is a federal offence under

the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax code”.12

Timeline of Events/ Discussion of Topic

A timeline of the most significant scandals at FIFA will be presented to the

delegates so that they understand past incidents of corruption, its causes

and repercussions as well as to think of possible solutions.

❖ Italy - World Cup 1934:

11 Chen J. (25 June 2019). What is Money Laundering?. Investopedia. Retrieved from

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/moneylaundering.asp

12 Kagan J. (7 August 2019). What is Tax Evasion?. Investopedia. Retrieved from

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/taxevasion.asp

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Europe went through considerable changes during the 20th century,

from monarchy to democracy to church domination and despotism with no

political ideology being adopted 100%. Two quite new notions - Fascism

and Nazism - made their appearance at that time when football has started

to become the sport of the masses. Three leaders namely Mussolini, Hitler

and Franco tried to exploit the popular appeal of football so as to take

advantage of the propaganda that is used to sports and manipulate the

crowds. Having established his regime, Benito Mussolini was interested in

making fascism the primary ideology of his people.

As mentioned above, sport is something that belongs to the masses

as it involves all the fans who are watching the games from the sidelines

whilst supporting their favourite team13. That is what Mussolini thought

when he realised that he could use this sport so as to modify the opinion

and views of the masses.

At the beginning, Mussolini and his political party established the

Italian League - Serie A. Led by Leandro Arpinati - the grad of Bolognese

Fascism - the federation began revolutionising the game. Hosting the 1934

World Cup was Mussolini’s big chance because he had the opportunity to

show off his nation’s mettle via the organization of the event as well as

through the performance of his nation on the field. He wanted to have the

ultimate say in his nation’s result and that is what he exactly did: referees

were bribed, and corruption was more than obvious.

To be more precise, Mussolini was accused of selecting the referees and

dining with them so as convince them about the side they should support14.

Indeed, Italy won the first match 7-1 against the USA, which shocked

13 The PA Team (11 March 2018). 1934 World Cup - The story of Mussolini, Italy, and

the fascist blackshirts. Italy, Punditarena. Retrieved from https://punditarena.com/football/thepateam/1934-world-cup-mussolini-italy-fascists/ 14 Balser B., Santalbano A. (2013). The 1934 World Cup. Duke University, Soccer

Politics. Retrieved from https://sites.duke.edu/wcwp/research-projects/football-and-

politics-in-europe-1930s-1950s/mussolinis-football/the-1934-world-cup/

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everyone. The same situation followed with Spain and Austria where it was

believed that Mussolini had dinner with the Swedish referee - Ivan Eklind -

who would officiate the match.In the final, the Italians won the cup on home

terrain and Mussolini achieved his ultimate goal: to show off his country on

the world.

According to the accusations, Mussolini personally selected referees for

the matches where the Italian national team were playing, while his

government meddled in FIFA’s events, and reorganised the logistics of the

matches to further promote fascism. It was not random that Italy won the

following edition of the World Cup15.

❖ World Cup France 1998:

Brazil’s capitulation during the 1998 World Cup came out of the blue and

shocked the French government. The story began just five days before the

final match when Brazil had already eliminated the Netherlands which was

until then their most hard encounter during a tournament.

The famous football player Ronaldo had opened the score and converted

Brazil’s first penalty. Despite this success, on the 12th of July the day of the

final, Ronaldo broke down and cried when arriving at the team’s hotel after

lunch. It looked like pressure had taken over him in a level that he could

not control it. As the doctors mentioned he was experiencing convulsions,

something never seen before in a football player and also declared that he

was taking the painkiller Voltaren for more than a month. Unexpectedly,

40 minutes prior to kick-off, Ronaldo announced that he was ready to

15 Hart J. ( 27 July 2016). When the World Cup rolled into Fascist Italy in 1934. The

football Times. Retrieved from https://thesefootballtimes.co/2016/07/27/when-the-

world-cup-rolled-into-fascist-italy-in-1934/

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play16. This incident created many questions; three possible scenarios were

developed so as to understand what was really happening.

The first one suggests that Ronaldo was hiding a secret medical

condition. Ronaldo had been a football player since 1994 when he was 17

years old and the sudden situation of anxiety and stress was the first and

last that has ever happened to him, so that made the incident stranger.

The questions that were raised concerns about his health issues which could

have possibly been private and hidden from the public with the doctors

exploiting the situation and making things worse for Ronaldo by prescribing

painkillers. The second scenario postulates that Brazil’s players accepted

bribes so as to throw the match. An amount of 15.000.000 € was thought

of being offered to the Brazil team as well as the possibility of hosting a

World Cup in the future with the prerequisite that they would beat the

French team. If this is true, then it is possible that Ronaldo felt

uncomfortable with the agreement and changed his mind17.

The last theory supports that after the match day, Nike revealed this

statement: “With regard to rumours circulating about presumed pressures

Nike put on the Brazilian national soccer team so that Ronaldo would play,

Nike wants to emphasise that the report of such involvement is absolutely

false. Ronaldo and Zagallo decided together to crown this dream which the

Brazilian player, probably, deserved to live. In all of this Nike did not

interfere in any way. And besides, why should it have?”

However, Nike could have easily interfered in the match since it was

sponsoring Ronaldo. The company had invested a lot of money in the 1998

World Cup and the majority of their marketing was based around the Brazil

national team and more specifically Ronaldo. If Ronaldo decided to give up

16 Elliott N. (2018). The unsolved mystery of Ronaldo’s 1998 World Cup Final. Dream

Team. Retrieved from https://www.dreamteamfc.com/c/news-gossip/165418/mystery-

ronaldo-1998-world-cup/

17 FourFourTwo. (27 March 2018). What really happened to Ronaldo before the 1998

World Cup Final - in his own words. FourFourTwo. Retrieved from https://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/what-really-happened-ronaldo-1998-world-cup-

final-his-own-words

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on the game, the company’s reputation could be severely damaged and

threatened. If the image of the strongest and youngest football player could

fall apart within seconds, then the image of Nike could also fall apart by

losing fans and consumers18. Nevertheless, the day of the match Ronaldo

managed to provide the team with good opportunities but France after half-

time asserted control, with Zidane scoring his second goal. The match

ended with a score of 0-3 in favour of France.

The questions about Ronaldo’s health issues remained unanswered;

meanwhile a new scandal occurred. After the end of the match and the

French victory, the former UEFA president Michel Platini was sanctioned

with a six year ban from the FIFA Ethics Committee when he admitted that

the win of France involved match-fixing. Platini was banned for eight years

in December along with former President, Sepp Blatter over a payment of

2.000.000 CHF. FIFAS’s Ethics Committee, which imposed the ban, said the

payment, made at a time when Blatter was seeking re-election, lacked

transparency and presented conflicts of interest. Both men denied

wrongdoing. Both had their bans reduced to six years by FIFA’s Appeal

Committee in 2016 and the allegations against Platini are still ongoing19.

18 Angeli E. (23 February 2017). Nike’s manipulation of the ’98 World Cup cost football

Ronaldo’s finest moment. The Versed. Retrieved from https://www.theversed.com/45278/nike-world-cup-ronaldo-1998-france-

brazil/#.UWutiFW12g

19 The Guardian. (18 May 2018). Michel Platini says 1998 World Cup draw ‘trickery’ led

to France v Brazil final. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/may/18/michel-platini-world-cup-1998-

brazil-france-draw-trickery

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Michel Platini is pictured celebrating with France captain Didier Deschamps after the hosts

beat Brazil in the 1998 World Cup final in Paris. Photograph: Gabriel Bouys/EPA. Retrieved

from: https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/may/18/michel-platini-world-cup-

1998-brazil-france-draw-trickery

❖ World Cup Japan – South Korea 2002:

In 1996, FIFA decided to give the right to two countries to jointly host the

leading football competition, the World Cup. Before the vote, Japan and

South Korea decided to join forces and thus took over the organization of

the event.

Their political and social issues have taken them several years to

resolve and so the problems have been numerous at the organisational and

accounting level. In the 2002 game, however, favouritism towards South

Korea was rather overt. The phenomenon has peaked in the knockout

stages when Ecuador’s Byron Moreno has been indicted by Francesco Totti

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and Givani Trapatoni for organized conspiracy against the Italy20. The main

cause concerned the incidents taking place during the match. In particular

those incidents concern the penalty shoot-out in favour of South Korea in

the first half, Damiano Tomazi’s goal which was mistakenly canceled out as

a goalkeeper in the extension as well as his second yellow card for a foul

on Chong Gong Song.

Later, Moreno accused his assistant of making a mistake in the game

while FIFA’s President, Sepp Blatter, denied having conspired against Italy

but admitted there were errors: “Italy’s exclusion is not just for referees

and assistants who made mistakes. Italy also made mistakes in both

defense and attack”21.

❖ World Cup Russia 2018:

In 2010, the FIFA Executive Committee met in Zurich so as to select the

hosting country of the 2018 World Cup. Russia won the 2018 World Cup in

the second round of voting with a total of 13 votes. The Football Federation

of the UK and others made allegations of corruption against the Russian

team and to FIFA members. They argued that four members of the

executive committee had wanted to vote in favour of England while Sepp

Blatter said it had already been decided that Russia would win.

The 2014 Garcia Report, an internal investigation conducted by

Michael Garcia was overshadowed by the the release of Hans Joachim

Eckert, FIFA’s Chief of Ethics. Russia’s bid for the World Cup was presented

as an opportunity for the country to showcase its progression since the

collapse of the Soviet Union. Russia’s World Cup proposal argued that

20 Bratsos K. (12 June 2014). Ιαπωνία & Νότια Κορέα - 2002. Athens, Greece, Contra.

Retrieved from https://www.contra.gr/podosfairo/iaponia-notia-korea-

2002.7141079.html

21 Lothano A. (18 June 2015). Μορένο, ο διαιτητής που έσφαξε την Ιταλία στο Μουντιάλ

του 2002. Athens, Greece, Sport 24. Retrieved from https://www.sport24.gr/Files/moreno-o-diaithths-poy-esfakse-thn-italia-sto-moyntial-

toy-2002.3535107.html

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hosting the tournament would be a net positive for the country in long-

term, as infrastructure projects had the potential to spark the Russian

economy and leave a lasting impact on regional development. Russia was

accused of trying to utilise this World Cup as an opportunity to improve its

image internationally22. During 2015 an investigation was conducted by FBI

members, where some FIFA members were arrested as they were accused

of a professional football scam.

At the same time, the Swiss authorities raided the FIFA headquarters

in Zurich and announced that an investigation would begin into 2022 World

Cup in Qatar. The FBI Director James Comey declared that “the defendants

have reinforced the culture of corruption and greed which have created

inequality for the world’s largest sport”. According to the New York Times,

the FIFA executives arrested were facing the charges of blackmail, bribery

and money laundering. The defendants have raised over 100 million dollars

in the last 20 years. At the same time, 14 total arrests relating to

procedures of assigning world cups, marketing and broadcasting rights

were announced. On the other side the Russian declared they would make

public all the required data and information in order to prove its innocence

and irrelevance to the FIFA executive’s actions23.

❖ World Cup Qatar 2022:

The awarding of the 2022 FIFA World Cup to Qatar created a number of

concerns and controversies. The primary question raised was about the

country and its suitability of being the host of the 2022 event due to its

22 Bensinger K. (14 June 2018). How Russia won the World Cup. UK, The

Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/jun/14/how-russia-won-the-world-cup

23 Πρώτο Θέμα. (27 May 2015). Σκάνδαλο FIFA: Ψάχνουν μήπως Ρωσία-Κατάρ

εξαγόρασαν τα Μουντιάλ 2018 και 2022. Greece, Πρώτο Θέμα. Retrived from https://www.protothema.gr/sports/article/479691/eleghoun-mipos-rosia-katar-

exagorasan-to-moudial-2018-kai-2022/

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human rights issues.It is believed that the country was mainly selected due

to its oil and gas deposits as well as due to the fact that it is one of the

richest countries in the world24. It is also the country with the highest per

capita income globally. A second concern is regarding the issue of alcohol.

For instance, all the fans who enjoy consuming beers or any other kind of

alcohol during the matches, will have major issues if they act in this way

when coming to Qatar.

Moreover, the geography of Qatar is a separate issue that has both

positive and negative implications: of the seven cities where the matches

will take place, five are within a 25km radius. That being said, it is deniable

how the police officers will manage the World Cup fans in such short

distances so that the country does not experience fights among the fans of

opposite teams.

Furthermore, another issue concerns the voting procedure. It took

four voting rounds to get Qatar anchored, even if the country had well over

half of the votes of the FIFA Executive Committee in all four rounds.

Whispers and conspiracy theories about what happened in the background,

which promises were made, how much money was invested are unlikely to

stop nor will we ever know the exact truth.

Last but not least, during June-July, months usually when the World

Cup is held, temperatures in Qatar range between 40 and 50 Celsius

degrees. In such a case, the atmosphere will be uncomfortable not only for

the fans but also the participants. One possible solution is to change the

time when the World Cup will begin but there are concerns about how fair

is to suddenly change a tradition of this event and affect the participation

of the national associations25.

24 Papantonopoulou V. (16 November 2014). Κατάρ 2022: το μουντιάλ των

ερωτηματικών. Greece, Efsyn. Retrieved from

https://www.efsyn.gr/athlitismos/podosfairo/4036_katar-2022-moyntial-ton-

erotimatikon

25 Ibid.

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Bloc Position

Being corruption an international illness, it is true that it has multiple ways

of being committed, especially when large amounts of money may be

moved in the operation. FIFA has been the objective of many accusations

from diverse entities due to its practices across time.

FIFA Council: The executive body of FIFA and the one in charge of the

election of the venues for all FIFA tournaments has been criticized for

accepting political pressure since the very beginning of the World Cup in

1930. Since then, they have been involved in various unproven and proven

cases of corruption being the most relevant the 2015 scandal, where FBI

intervened to solve one of the most complex schemes seen in sports.

National Federations: Related with the FIFA Council, political pressure tends

to be impulse by national federations, mainly those electable to host the

major tournaments held by FIFA. From this perspective, Italy, France,

South Korea, Russia and Qatar are the most well-known examples, but

other countries may be affected by this issue. National federations are the

ones who have to begin the process of eliminating corruption from FIFA

through their internal functioning as well as through their representatives

in the FIFA Council.

Confederations: Represented by their member countries, all six

confederations must ensure that all practices done by FIFA, and national

federations fit in the Code of Ethics and the legislation created by FIFA,

taking advantage of their position of intermediaries between federations

and FIFA.

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Conclusion

The motto of FIFA is that football is everywhere and for everyone. It is true

that FIFA has contributed in so many ways to the development of some

continents such as Europe. FIFA has assisted Europe in the development of

its economy since it has cooperated with the private and public sector which

had the chance to gain significant amounts of money coming from the FIFA

revenues of more than EUR 2bn when events such as the World Cup are

being organised.

Additionally, in terms of equality and human rights, between 2016

and 2019 FIFA has tried to raise awareness about how important it is for

women to also participate in football matches, through many initiatives

such as the FIFA Women’s World Cup and the Girls Youth Olympic Football

Tournament. FIFA has also contributed to make this world a better place

through its active participation and promotion of philanthropic events26.

However, in terms of organisation, it is said that FIFA has not treated

equally all the confederations. In particular,the Confederation of African

Football has been treated poorly, even though the roots of the game are

coming from the African continent. It is generally admitted that for non-

European countries it was always more difficult and complex to get the

opportunity to host events such as the World Cup and that is proved since

countries in Asia, Oceania and Africa have hosted very few World Cups.

Questions a Resolution should answer:

❖ What is your country’s relation with and position towards the FIFA?

❖ What are the causes of all the corruption in FIFA?

❖ What are the repercussions of the scams in FIFA?

26 FIFA. (2019). FIFA’s key achievements: 2016-2019. Zurich, FIFA. Retrieved from

https://img.fifa.com/image/upload/qyxnjzjfwwv5wcpnfugp.pdf

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❖ Is the legal framework of FIFA enough to reduce incidents of bribery

and money laundering?

❖ Do you think that the work of the FIFA Ethics Committee is good

enough or there is more progress to be done?

❖ Are the corruption events mentioned above solved? If not, how would

your country contribute in solving the mystery behind the allegations?

❖ Are there any other important scandals that need to be discussed?

❖ How your country reacted to the issues discussed?

What are some useful proposals in order to avoid the aforementioned issues

during the World Cup in Qatar 2022?

❖ Should the procedure of voting for the next hosting country of the

World Cup be changed? If so, why?

❖ Are there any possible solutions which can be practically implemented

so as to solve the issue of corruption?

Further Reading:

In this section, you may find some useful information and further details

about our topic. Please, take a look at the links below:

• https://img.fifa.com/image/upload/datdz0pms85gbnqy4j3k.pdf

• https://img.fifa.com/image/upload/q28gdktklmbx20lrsgyl.pdf

• https://resources.fifa.com/image/upload/the-fifa-statutes-

2018.pdf?cloudid=whhncbdzio03cuhmwfxa

• https://www.academia.edu/24346431/Sports_Journalism_and

_the_FIFA_Scandal_Personalization_Co-optation_Investigation

• https://resources.fifa.com/image/upload/fifa-code-of-ethics-

2018-version-takes-effect-12-08-

18.pdf?cloudid=uemlkcy8wwdtlll6sy3j

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Bibliography:

● Angeli E. (23 February 2017). Nike’s manipulation of the ’98 World Cup

cost football Ronaldo’s finest moment. The Versed. Retrieved from

https://www.theversed.com/45278/nike-world-cup-ronaldo-1998-france-

brazil/#.UWutiFW12g

● Balser B., Santalbano A. (2013). The 1934 World Cup. Duke University,

Soccer Politics. Retrieved from https://sites.duke.edu/wcwp/research-

projects/football-and-politics-in-europe-1930s-1950s/mussolinis-

football/the-1934-world-cup/

● Bensinger K. (14 June 2018). How Russia won the World Cup. UK, The

Guardian. Retrieved from

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/jun/14/how-russia-won-the-

world-cup

● Bratsos K. (12 June 2014). Ιαπωνία & Νότια Κορέα - 2002. Athens,

Greece, Contra. Retrieved from https://www.contra.gr/podosfairo/iaponia-

notia-korea-2002.7141079.html

● Cambridge Dictionary. (2019). Meaning of Match-fixing. Cambridge, UK,

Cambridge Dictionary. Retrieved from

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/match-fixing

● Chen J. (25 June 2019). What is Money Laundering?. Investopedia.

Retrieved from

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/moneylaundering.asp

● Collins Dictionary. (2018). Definition of bribery. Collins Dictionary.

Retrieved from

https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/bribery

● Dictionary (2019). Gambling. Dictionary. Retrieved from

https://www.dictionary.com/browse/gambling

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● Elliott N. (2018). The unsolved mystery of Ronaldo’s 1998 World Cup

Final. Dream Team. Retrieved from

https://www.dreamteamfc.com/c/news-gossip/165418/mystery-ronaldo-

1998-world-cup/

● FIFA. (2019). FIFA Code of Ethics. Zurich, Switzerland. Retrieved from

https://resources.fifa.com/image/upload/fifa-code-of-ethics-2019-

version.pdf?cloudid=la3f5yqsox5cns9oypkg

● (FIFA). (2019). FIFA Governance Regulations (FGR). Zurich,

Switzerland: FIFA Committee. Retrieved from

https://resources.fifa.com/image/upload/fifa-governance-regulations-

2016-2112075.pdf?cloudid=hoqftq5c00zsy25kio1y

● FIFA. (2018). How FIFA Works. Zurich, Switzerland, FIFA. Retrieved

from https://www.fifa.com/governance/how-fifa-works/index.html

● FIFA. (2019). FIFA’s key achievements: 2016-2019. Zurich, FIFA.

Retrieved from

https://img.fifa.com/image/upload/qyxnjzjfwwv5wcpnfugp.pdf

● FIFA Statutes. (June 2019). FIFA Statutes: regulations governing the

application of the statutes. Zurich, Switzerland. FIFA. Retrieved from

https://resources.fifa.com/image/upload/fifa-statutes-5-august-2019-

en.pdf?cloudid=ggyamhxxv8jrdfbekrrm

● FourFourTwo. (27 March 2018). What really happened to Ronaldo before

the 1998 World Cup Final - in his own words. FourFourTwo. Retrieved

from https://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/what-really-happened-

ronaldo-1998-world-cup-final-his-own-words

● Hart J. ( 27 July 2016). When the World Cup rolled into Fascist Italy in

1934. The football Times. Retrieved from

https://thesefootballtimes.co/2016/07/27/when-the-world-cup-rolled-into-

fascist-italy-in-1934/

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● Kagan J. (7 August 2019). What is Tax Evasion?. Investopedia. Retrieved

from https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/taxevasion.asp

● Lothano A. (18 June 2015). Μορένο, ο διαιτητής που έσφαξε την Ιταλία

στο Μουντιάλ του 2002. Athens, Greece, Sport 24. Retrieved from

https://www.sport24.gr/Files/moreno-o-diaithths-poy-esfakse-thn-italia-

sto-moyntial-toy-2002.3535107.html

● Naby L. (October 2017). Managing the Reputation of the Federation

International Association (FIFA): The case of the corruption crisis. Public

Relations Journal, Egypt. Retrieved from

https://prjournal.instituteforpr.org/wp-content/uploads/FIFA-

Corruption.pdf

● Papantonopoulou V. (16 November 2014). Κατάρ 2022: το μουντιάλ των

ερωτηματικών. Greece, Efsyn. Retrieved from

https://www.efsyn.gr/athlitismos/podosfairo/4036_katar-2022-moyntial-

ton-erotimatikon The Guardian. (18 May 2018). Michel Platini says 1998

World Cup draw ‘trickery’ led to France v Brazil final. The Guardian.

Retrieved from

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/may/18/michel-platini-

world-cup-1998-brazil-france-draw-trickery

● The PA Team (11 March 2018). 1934 World Cup - The story of Mussolini,

Italy, and the fascist blackshirts. Italy, Punditarena. Retrieved from

https://punditarena.com/football/thepateam/1934-world-cup-mussolini-

italy-fascists/

● Transparency International (2018). What is Corruption?. Transparency

International. Retrieved from https://www.transparency.org/what-is-

corruption

● Unger D. (2 March 2017). FIFA must do more to win back trust of football

fans. Transparency International. Retrieved from

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https://www.transparency.org/news/feature/fifa_must_do_more_to_win_

back_trust_of_football_fans

● Πρώτο Θέμα. (27 May 2015). Σκάνδαλο FIFA: Ψάχνουν μήπως Ρωσία-

Κατάρ εξαγόρασαν τα Μουντιάλ 2018 και 2022. Greece, Πρώτο Θέμα.

Retrived from https://www.protothema.gr/sports/article/479691/eleghoun-

mipos-rosia-katar-exagorasan-to-moudial-2018-kai-2022/

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Topic B: 2021 FIFA Club

World Cup, The Bidding

Process

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Introduction:

The FIFA Club World Cup is the competition that defines the best club in

the world and, until the 2020 edition, which will be held in Qatar, is played

yearly among the continental champions and the league winner of the host

country. However, in 2021, the format has changed to a 24-team

tournament27 that will take place every four years, matching the model of

the FIFA World Cup and replacing the Confederations Cup as the

tournament played the summerbefore the FIFA World Cup.

Although outside this committee, China has been elected by unanimity by

the FIFA Council as the venue for this 2021 FIFA Club World Cup. In LIMUN,

countries are expected to present their bids to host this tournament and

show the world that, most of the times, football politics is what truly

determines the destiny of this sport. It is not only necessary to propose the

best bid, but it is also crucial to perfectly lobby with other countries, as the

host of the Club World Cup will be elected by the members of the “FIFA

Council”, being this represented by all the delegates having one vote each.

Votingprocedure will happen on Saturday after lunch to reduce the

interruption of the intense debate of Topic A, so delegates must be ready

to convince -or have already convinced- other delegates about their bid to

increase their likelihood of being elected.

The votings will be doneconfidentially, with each delegation writingtheir

preferred choice ona sheet of paper and handing it to the Chairs. Once all

delegates have delivered their vote, the Chairing team will count those

27 Sky Sports. (2019, October 24). FIFA Club World Cup: China to host expanded 24-team tournament in 2021. Retrieved from https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/11843622/fifa-club-

world-cup-china-to-host-expanded-24-team-tournament-in-2021.

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votes, announcing the bid that received the least votes, striking it out from

the next voting round. If, at the end of a round, there is any country with

zero votes, it will be automatically eliminated from the election process.

This is especially relevant during the first round of votings, as some

delegations may end up giving their vote to other bids and not receiving

any. In case of a tie for the last place, not including those bids with zero

votes, delegates will have to vote between the tied competitors to decide

which one remains in the fight.

Definitions:

FIFA Club World Cup: The major club tournament host by FIFA: it decides

which team will be crowned as the world champion for the following four

years, from the 2021 edition.

Bid: The candidatures that will be presented by delegates to host the 2021

FIFA Club World Cup.

National federations: The national federations are the highest body in

charge of football in each of the 211 members of FIFA and they

regulate their national competitions, such as the national league, the cup

and the national teams sent to international tournaments.

Confederation: A body that supervises the activities of all national

federations belonging to it, and the responsible of organizing the

continental tournaments, such as the Champions League, European Nations

League and Euro. There are only 6 confederations, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL,

UEFA, CAF, AFC and OFC.

FIFA: Created in 1904, has been the major body of football for 115 years

and is in charge of governing the sport worldwide, apart from a wide range

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of tournaments, especially the FIFA World Cup and the FIFA Club World

Cup.

Timeline of Events:

July 3 - September 4, 1960 - First Intercontinental Cup.

The first Intercontinental Cup was played between Real Madrid and Peñarol,

as both winners of the European Champion Clubs’ Cup and the Copa

Libertadores. It ended up with a final result of 5-1 in favor of the Spaniards,

after Real Madrid took advantage ofbeing at home in the second leg of the

final,after the first match, played in Uruguay, ended 0-0 28. This was the

first intercontinental tournament recognized by FIFA, so Real Madrid were

crowned as the first club to become world champion29, although there were

already unofficial tournaments such as the Small Club World Cup, that took

place in Caracas, Venezuela30.

28 FIFA.com. History of FIFA - Foundation. Retrieved from https://www.fifa.com/about-fifa/who-we-are/history/index.html.

29 García, J. (2018, December 21). How Real Madrid were crowned world champion 6

times: Real Madrid CF. Retrieved from https://www.realmadrid.com/en/news/2018/12/how-real-madrid-were-crowned-world-

champion-6-times. 30 Revolvy, LLC. "Small Club World Cup" folder on Revolvy.com. Retrieved from

https://www.revolvy.com/folder/Small-Club-World-Cup/1111539.

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October 22, 1969 - The most violent final in football

history31.

The tenth edition of the Intercontinental Cup

was played by AC Milan, the Europen

champion, and Estudiantes de la Plata, the

representatives of Latin America. It is

considered by many, the most violent football

match ever played, due to the extreme tactics

employed by the Argentinian side, that were

able to demolish the Italian game by raw

force, with tackles directed to the knees, the

chest or wherever the Argentinians considered

necessary to recover the first-leg match that

ended in a 3-0 victory tothe Italians. This

happened under the amazed look of half of the

world, that watched, not believing their eyes,

how the referee let Estudiantes play brutally

against the Italians32. Here you will have a link to the game, where you can

see, for example in the minute 40:25 of the video a small example of what

happened33. That would provoke a logical boycott from European teams to

the tournament for the next 10 years even though Estudiantes could just

win the match 2-1 and, therefore, losing the final.

31 Calemme, M. (2019, October 22). Milan-Estudiantes: Football's "most violent game"

turns 50. Retrieved from

https://en.as.com/en/2019/10/22/football/1571746442_269867.html.

32 Pulling, C. (2013, March 5). La Bombonera Massacre 1969. Retrieved from

http://backpagefootball.com/la-bombonera-massacre-1969/54236/. 33 Pince, J. Estudiantes de La Plata vs AC Milan 1969 Intercontinental Cup 2nd Leg Full

Match. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00xvISQvjYY.

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1980 - The Toyota Cup as a solution to the boycott.

After that 1969 Intercontinental final, European teams would try not to play

the match in Latin America due to the “intensity” shown by Latin American

teams since 1965 in these matches. After some years of doubts about the

future of the competition, in 1980, the legendary Nottingham Forest,

Nacional de Montevideo and West Nally, a British company specialized in

sport marketing met to find a solution to avoid the collapse of the

competition. Toyota then appeared to propose a solution. They would

sponsor the tournament and its format would change to a single match

played in Japan. The solution was accepted by both teams, as it was

necessary to change the format to a single match and it could not be played

in Latin America or Europe, due to the risk it could carry for the away

team34.

2000 - FIFA creates the Club World Championship.

FIFA wanted to change the format of the Intercontinental Cup - known also

as Toyota Cup after the sponsorship but maintaining the presence of the

European and South American champions. However, as this was not

possible, FIFA decided to introduce the new century with a tournament that

would have, for the first time in history, clubs representing the 6

confederations, having Europe 2 representatives: Man. United as European

champion and Real Madrid after being named “Best club of the XX Century”;

as well as South America, with Vasco da Gama and Corinthians as

representatives both teams coming from the venues of the tournament, Río

de Janeiro and São Paulo35. Necaxa, from Mexico, would be the CONCACAF

representative; Al-Nassr, from Saudi Arabia represented Asia; Raja

34 Nacional y Nottingham Forest, Toyota Cup '80: choque entre dos mundos. (2016,

December 16). Retrieved from http://www.mondofutbol.com/es/toyota-cup-1980-choque-entre-dos-mundos/. 35 FIFA.com. Brasil 2000: El mundo recibe una lección de samba. Retrieved from https://web.archive.org/web/20131013181838/http://es.fifa.com/tournaments/archive/t

ournament=107/edition=3692/overview.html.

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Casablanca, from Morocco, Africa and South Melbourne represented

Oceania when Australia still belonged to OFC36. The tournament was won

by Vasco da Gama against Corinthians, showing the superiority of Brazilian

football, as would be reemphasised in the 2002 World Cup37.

2005 - FIFA Club World Cup is created.

After the Intercontinental Cup of 2004, FIFA decided to combine both the

Club World Championship and the Intercontinental Cup, giving birth to the

FIFA Club World Championship Toyota Cup, held in Japan in 200538. This

tournament, as did the Club World Championship, would have

representatives from the 6 confederations and, like theToyota Cup, gave

the recognition of world champion to the winning team. Only the

continental winners had access to the tournament, where the European and

South America champions were promoted to the semi-finals, while the

other four champions had to play a quarter-final round. Apart from the two

quarterfinals, two semi-finals and the final, there were matches for third

and fifth place39. Since 2007, the host country’s league champion has

access to the tournament, playing a round of play-off for the quarterfinals

against the Oceanian champion40.

October 23, 2019 - China elected to host the new Club

World Cup.

36 FIFA.com. Retrieved from https://web.archive.org/web/20120213165949/http://es.fifa.com/tournaments/archive/t

ournament=107/edition=3692/teams/index.html 37 FIFA.com. Retrieved from

https://web.archive.org/web/20120103231107/http://es.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/editi

on=4395/results/index.html 38 FIFA.com. FIFA Club World Championship Toyota Cup Japan 2005. Retrieved from

https://www.fifa.com/clubworldcup/archive/japan2005/index.html. 39 FIFA.com. FIFA Club World Championship Toyota Cup Japan 2005 - Matches. Retrieved

from https://www.fifa.com/clubworldcup/archive/japan2005/matches/index.html.

40 FIFA.com. FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2007 - Matches. Retrieved from

https://www.fifa.com/clubworldcup/archive/japan2007/matches/index.html.

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On March 2019, Gianni Infantino revealed that the FIFA Club World Cup

would be subject to drastic changes from the 2021 edition. It will be

composed by 24 teams41 coming from the six confederations and it will take

place each four years, as the World Cup does. As expected, the six

confederations will not be equally represented in this tournament, with

eight spots given to European teams, six to CONCACAF, three to

CONMEBOL, three to CAF, three to AFC and the final spot is given to OFC.

Each confederation establishes the parameters that will select the teams

representing them in the Club World Cup. The first edition of this new

version of the Club World Cup will be held in China from June 17, 2021

toJuly 4, 2021.

Discussion:

When the session after Saturday lunch begins, all delegates who have

presented a bid will move to the floor in the order established by the Dais

to present their candidature. Each delegation will have 3 minutes for their

speech and other 3 minutes to answer questions related to their bid. Once

they finish or the time runs out, the following delegation will repeat the

process until all bids have been introduced. Once this has happened, all

delegations will begin the voting procedure to eliminate the bids that obtain

the lowest result.

The final winner, apart from feeling the pride of “hosting” the 2021

FIFA Club World Cup, will receive a Diplomacy Award in the Closing

Ceremony for not only making the bestbid, but also for correctly lobbying

in favor of each delegation’s project, inducing people to select that one

rather than other delegates’.

41 FIFA.com. Who We Are - News - FIFA Council votes for the introduction of a revamped FIFA Club World Cup. Retrieved from https://www.fifa.com/about-fifa/who-we-

are/news/fifa-council-votes-for-the-introduction-of-a-revamped-fifa-club-world-cup.

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Bloc Positions:

UEFA (Union of European Football Associations): The largest confederation

in FIFA, with 55 national federations, will also be the confederation with the

largest amount of spots, 8, which will be given to the Champions League

and Europe League winners of 2018, 2019, 2020 and 202142. This means

that Real Madrid, Atlético de Madrid, Liverpool and Chelsea are already

qualified for the tournament. It is also the confederation with the largest

amount of FIFA World Cup and Club World Cup trophies, with 12 World Cup

wins - 4 Germany and Italy, 2 France, 1 Spain and England and 32 Club

World Cups, being Real Madrid, with 7, its major representative.

CONMEBOL (Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol in Spanish, or South

American Football Confederation): On the other side, despite the low

amount of national federations, South American footballers have proven

their talent across history since 1920, when Uruguay obtained the gold

medal in the Olympics held in Amberes. 9 World Cup titles - 5 Brazil, 2

Argentina and Uruguay and 26 Club World Cup wins are the best argument

for them. There will be 6 representatives from this confederation, being

them the winners of the Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana of 2019

and 2020. The other two spots are not yet confirmed, but they will likely

be given to the champion and the runner-up of the Supercopa

Sudamericana43.

CONCACAF (Confederation of North and Central American and the

Caribbean Association Football): The Confederation of North and Central

America and the Caribbean is composed by 33 national federations.

42 Carroll, S. (2019, October 24). Liverpool set for 2021 Club World Cup as format switch confirmed. Retrieved from https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-

news/liverpool-look-set-2021-club-17138190. 43 La Conmebol, a punto de aprobar el regreso de la Supercopa Sudamericana. .

Retrieved from http://www.ecuagol.com/ecuagol/index.php?n=150168.

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However, few have reached Club World Cup Finals and the Confederation’s

best result in a World Cup wasthe semi-finals of the 1930 World Cup, where

the United States managed to finish in third position44. There will be 3 spots

for the Club World Cup 2021, but how will they be distributed is still an

unknown45. The Confederationhas hosted 3 World Cups, being them Mexico

in 1970 and 1986 and United States in 1994.

AFC (Asian Football Confederation): The second largest confederation, with

54 members, has hosted only one World Cup, the 2002 Korea/Japan World

Cup but the majority of FIFA Club World Cups, as well as the Toyota Cup

during the Intercontinental Cup period. Their best result in a World Cup is

the fourth position obtained by South Korea on home soil46. For the 2021

Club World Cup, they have the exact same situation as the CONCACAF with

3 spots whose distribution will be revealed in the next future.

CAF (Confédération Africaine de Football in French, or African Football

Confederation): The African Confederation is the one with the largest future

potential as many interesting African players are growing in the European

leagues. However, their current situation at the international level is that

they have only hosted one World Cup, in South Africa in 2010 and two Club

World Cups in Morocco in 2013 and 201447. As AFC and CONCACAF, they

have 3 spots available, but the requirements to fill each of them are still

unknown.

44 FIFA.com. Copa Mundial de la FIFA Uruguay 1930. Retrieved from

https://es.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/uruguay1930/index.html.

45 Luque, X. G. (2019, March 16). Así será el nuevo Mundial de Clubs a partir de 2021. Retrieved from

https://www.lavanguardia.com/deportes/futbol/20190316/461049961568/mundial-de-

clubs-fifa.html. 46 FIFA.com. Copa Mundial de la FIFA Corea/Japón 2002. Retrieved from

https://es.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/koreajapan2002/index.html 47 FIFA.com. Copa Mundial de Clubes de la FIFA Catar 2019™ - FIFA.com. Retrieved from

https://es.fifa.com/clubworldcup/.

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OFC (Oceanian Football Confederation): The confederation with the largest

difference between national teams, especially before Australia moved to

AFC due to lack of opportunities to qualify for the World Cup48, will only

have one spot for the Club World Cup, as it had in the previous format,

where the OFC champion had to play a play-off to access the quarter-finals.

How will be this spot given is still an unknown and more information will be

available in a few months.

Conclusion:

All in all, the Club World Cup is a historical football tournament that has

evolved from its very first official version, the Intercontinental Cup played

between two teams in a two-legged final, to the 2021 model where 24

teams will compete for obtaining the Club World Champion award in an

emulation of the World Cup system of groups and knockout rounds after

this group period, not forgetting the Toyota Cup years and the pure

knockout version used between 2005 and 2020.

Suggested elements for a complete bid:

As delegates already know, this topic will have no debate, so the questions

to be answered will represent some suggestions of points that should be

included in any bid. Of course, any point not written in this paper that a

delegation considers appropriate for the enrichment of the bid is fully

accepted and will surely be appreciated by the other delegates.

• Venue: As expected, every bid must support a venue to host the 2021

FIFA Club World Cup. This includes, apart from the cities themselves,

all the stadiums where the matches will take place. If they are built

48 Person. (2005, July 1). Australia completes move from Oceania to Asia. Retrieved from https://www.theage.com.au/sport/soccer/australia-completes-move-from-oceania-to-

asia-20050701-ge0fqd.html.

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or not, that will depend on the country and its possibilities, but the

FIFA criteria for World Cup stadiums - minimum capacity of 40,000

people, minimum of 60,000 for the semi-finals and minimum of

80,000 people for the final.

• Economy: This FIFA Club World Cup must be economically viable to

avoid the possibility of cancelling the tournament due to the lack of

funding. This includes revenues and expenses.

• Logistics: All cities have different ways of functioning, so the

accommodation possibilities, transport through the city, the location

of the stadiums and the ease of access to the city may be taken into

account.

• Sustainability: Although the event may be a fantastic opportunity to

promote the country in an international level, sustainability of the

venues, the environment and the football spirit is a key element to

make a bid more valuable than others and to set up a reference point

in the sporting history in the country.

Further Reading:

Due to the special characteristics of the topic, further reading will be mainly

dependant on each delegation, as each venue is completely different and,

of course, the central common point that is the regulations.

• Guide to the bidding process for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. This

document includes all the necessary requirements to make a brilliant

bid and to start looking for information.

https://img.fifa.com/image/upload/hgopypqftviladnm7q90.pdf

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Bibliography:

• Sky Sports. (24 October, 2019). FIFA Club World Cup: China to host

expanded 24-team tournament in 2021. Retrieved from

https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/11843622/fifa-club-

world-cup-china-to-host-expanded-24-team-tournament-in-2021.

• Kahneman, P. (2011). Thinking Fast and Slow, Chapter 3.

• FIFA.com. History of FIFA - Foundation. Retrieved from

https://www.fifa.com/about-fifa/who-we-are/history/index.html.

• García, J. (21 December, 2018). How Real Madrid were crowned world

champion 6 times: Real Madrid CF. Retrieved from

https://www.realmadrid.com/en/news/2018/12/how-real-madrid-

were-crowned-world-champion-6-times.

• Revolvy, LLC. "Small Club World Cup" folder on Revolvy.com. Retrieved

from https://www.revolvy.com/folder/Small-Club-World-

Cup/1111539.

• Calemme, M. (22 October, 2019). Milan-Estudiantes: Football's "most

violent game" turns 50. Retrieved from

https://en.as.com/en/2019/10/22/football/1571746442_269867.html

.

• Pulling, C. (5 March, 2013). La Bombonera Massacre 1969. Retrieved

from http://backpagefootball.com/la-bombonera-massacre-

1969/54236/.

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