by Suzanne Beishon

THE TUC Congress unanimously backed a motion yesterday calling for fundamental Fifa reform.

The motion, put to the Congress by the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) also appealed for “much greater player involvement in the overall governance of the game.”

Welcoming the investigations into the corruption football’s world governing body, the motion states: “Corruption and malpractice has been synonymous with Fifa but it is the current US-led FBI investigation that has been the real game changer.

“Although such revelations are very damaging for football they also provide a unique opportunity to bring about a much-needed reform and overhaul.”

It also challenged the huge abuse of human rights that is taking place in Qatar in the building of the 2022 infrastructure, saying: “We have seen that the process by which the World Cup hosts are chosen is fundamentally flawed and this has allowed workers rights in Qatar to be ignored.

“The message from the Fifa scandal will resonate within the trade union movement because it is another example of impropriety at the heart of an organisation that dismisses the role of the worker and actively discourages their input.”

Putting the motion to the Congress ahead of the vote, the PFA’s Nick Cusack told the TUC that “the time has come to clean up the game” and that the “need for reform is now urgent.”

Unite convener Scot Walker slammed human rights abuses and exploitation of workers in Qatar abd demanded: “No respect for workers’ rights, no World Cup.”