The hearing will not feature FIFA executives—it was reported Monday that FIFA president Sepp Blatter declined to appear—but U.S. Soccer Federation CEO Dan Flynn is scheduled to testify. And lawmakers want to know about the United States’ role in the messy web of indictments and accusations, specifically U.S. Soccer’s knowledge of how events transpired.
There are "very important and pertinent questions about what U.S. Soccer knew, when they knew it, and what can and should be done to instill better governance and practices," said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, the ranking member of the Consumer Protection subpanel, in an interview with National Journal. "My hope is that U.S. Soccer will itself, on its own, adopt better practices so that there is more transparency and accountability."
And an aide to Sen. Jerry Moran, the subcommittee chairman, said he will ask how long the U.S. should stick with FIFA: "If we don’t think we can reform FIFA, do we need to start questioning our participation in the organization?"
The subpanel has jurisdiction over U.S. sports issues in the professional and amateur realms. Multiple interviewees said Wednesday’s hearing is reminiscent of the special panel tasked with probing the 2002 Winter Olympics bid scandal. Moran’s aides said an independent bipartisan committee like the one formed in 1998 could result from the hearing.
"There have been a lot of issues at FIFA for a number of years, and it’s fine to highlight those. But we want to look for ways forward," Moran’s aide said. "What should we do now?"
U.S. Soccer’s president, Sunil Gulati, is also not scheduled to appear. The federation’s representatives did not respond to requests for comment, and Blumenthal said he intended to press the issue with Flynn.
Another scheduled witness, Michael Hershman, is the president and CEO of the Fairfax Group. Hershman serves on FIFA’s independent governance committee with Gulati. "I have a great respect for Sunil Gulati," Hershman said in an interview. "He is a role model for change, a man who has advocated and worked for change throughout his career. He’s someone that we should be proud of, because he represents a new generation of leadership."
Hershman said he is not satisfied with FIFA’s response to the 20 indictments that came down after a U.S.-led investigation. Much scrutiny focused on Blatter and his alleged role in decades of corruption. He announced his resignation just four days after being reelected to his fifth term in office, and will be stepping down after a special elective session in December. But Hershman is not happy with the move.
"I would like to see an independent, temporary president be put in place because I think it is outrageous that Sepp Blatter continues in this role," he said. "I’m going to be continuing to call for change in the leadership of FIFA. But frankly, the leadership has not been successful in changing the culture of the organization. I’m advocating for a bottom-up approach."
Another significant issue the hearing will address is the 2022 World Cup, which was awarded to Qatar. Allegations say that many of the FIFA Executive Committee votes were bought in favor of the Middle Eastern country. Some believe that the United States, which placed second in the voting, should be awarded the 2022 event, but Moran’s aides and Hershman believe that a rebid process should take place.
"It shouldn’t be a hearing about why the U.S. lost. It should be a hearing about what’s wrong with FIFA, and how we make sure that these issues never happen again," Hershman said.
Future World Cups will be awarded by the whole FIFA Congress instead of only the Executive Committee. But Hershman said that there is "still room for shenanigans" because the Committee can make host recommendations to the FIFA Congress.
But perhaps a bigger issue is the labor-exploitation controversy in Qatar. Ninety percent of the country’s workforce are migrant laborers—1.5 million, to be exact—and many are forced into the kafala employment system, which essentially prevents them from leaving their jobs or going back home. The International Trade Union Confederation has said that at least 4,000 workers on World Cup construction projects will die on the job before the first kickoff in December 2022.
Sunjeev Bery, Amnesty International’s advocacy director for the Middle East and North Africa, will be addressing these issues in his testimony Wednesday. "Congress has an important opportunity to shine an ongoing light on the government of Qatar’s terrible labor policies," Bery said in an interview.
Bery will be recommending to Congress that the U.S. government make labor rights in the Gulf region more of a foreign policy priority. "One approach would be for Congress to mandate a quarterly State Department report that tracks the on-the-ground reality of labor exploitation in Qatar between now and the 2022 World Cup," he said.
Last year, Amnesty International identified nine labor-exploitation issues it wishes to be addressed by the Qatari government. While Bery said that "limited progress" has been made in five of these areas, the four most important ones have not been touched: the exit permit, the restriction on changing employers, the ban on forming or joining a trade union, and the exclusion of domestic workers under Qatari labor law.
The hearing could have not just a domestic impact, but an international one. "Congress has an opportunity to make the spotlight of this hearing a regular and ongoing reality so that the government of Qatar understands that it must do more than issue promises that could be viewed as PR exercises," Bery said.
