SINGAPORE — The ongoing investigations into allegations of corruption in FIFA may have damaged its reputation, but award-winning investigative journalist James Dorsey believes the probe will lead to positive change within football’s world governing body.

Prominent FIFA executives are now “cautious about their every move”, he said, so as not to run afoul of the law amid a United States-led corruption investigation which has so far led to the arrest of several FIFA officials and senior sports marketing executives.

Authorities in Switzerland are also currently investigating claims that Russia and Qatar had bribed their way to winning the 2018 and 2022 World Cups respectively.

Dorsey, who delivered a lecture on the crisis facing FIFA and the geopolitics of football at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, pointed out today (July 20) that it was clear that politics and football were inextricably linked. “Reforms will have to regulate the relationship between politics and sports,” said the 63-year-old, who won the 2003 Dolf van den Broek prize, and has written for publications such as The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.

“Organisations like FIFA are at the moment, a law unto themselves and their officials behave as such in their various dealings. But the current probe into FIFA has since changed that culture a little, because they know their every move is being closely watched by the authorities.”

Dorsey also identified three key stakeholders — the judiciary, fans and corporate sponsors — who he claims have the real power to bring about change within FIFA and other regional football bodies such as the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

The US and Swiss authorities have taken the lead in this undertaking with their investigations into FIFA, while several global corporate sponsors of the embattled organisation such as Coca-Cola, Adidas and Visa have since voiced their concerns over the corruption scandal.

Football fans however, have remained largely indifferent to the problems surrounding FIFA. “There have been only a few minor demonstrations and protests by fan groups since this scandal broke,” said Dorsey. “But for many of them, this is a far-from-my-bed show and they are just content to see how this episode plays out without doing anything about it.”

Apart from the cloud of corruption hanging over the awarding of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar, the event has also drawn flak — mainly from UEFA and their respective leagues — for the challenges it will pose to the football calendar in Europe as it will be held from November to December, instead of the usual period of June and July.

Qatar has also been criticised over the issue of migrant workers involved in construction of the World Cup venues, with reports stating that many have been denied basic necessities such as food and water, while being made to work and live in sub-standard conditions.

While Dorsey believes that Qatar ‘bought’ the rights to host the 2022 World Cup, he is in favour of football’s most prestigious event going ahead there. “Unlike many other major sporting events, which don’t leave a legacy in the host country once it’s over, the 2022 World Cup will likely leave a legacy of social, political and economic change in Qatar,” he added.

“They will certainly be under pressure to address concerns over the conditions facing migrant workers in the country. Since winning the rights to host the World Cup, Qatar has also started engaging and welcoming their critics, making them the first Gulf-state to adopt such an approach, which is another sign of the kind of change that the World Cup has had on the country.”