Mana Shim Will Lead US Soccer Task Force on Abuse Reforms
As the world’s most talked-about international sports figure, it’s only fitting that the FIFA president gets the attention of a man whose voice is heard above all others to say that he is no longer on the same side with FIFA’s power brokers.
As the world’s most talked-about international sports figure, it’s only fitting that the FIFA president gets the attention of a man whose voice is heard above all others to say that he is no longer on the same side with FIFA’s power brokers.
While he may be the most high-profile figure in the world football world, and arguably the most influential, FIFA’s own human rights chief remains relatively anonymous.
For the past few months, he’s quietly been acting as the face of the global anti-abuse movement, joining other victims of the “crime” during a series of major events — including the 2016 Women’s World Cup in France — where he spoke on behalf of them.
During those speeches, he was widely praised as someone who saw the reality that abuse was endemic in sport and was a driving force behind meaningful reform.
However, there still remains controversy over his appointment and how his role is being handled. After all, FIFA has previously been accused of failing to protect top footballers accused of match-fixing and other heinous crimes. It has been accused of turning a blind eye to players using cocaine, as well as allegations of sexual abuse and of ignoring the use of abusive agents in soccer.
Yet FIFA’s own independent experts have told the Guardian that this situation is “completely different” since last year, when the UN passed a sweeping anti-corruption rule that FIFA said would force it to tackle problems long believed to have been ignored.
The UN’s global anti-corruption unit, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said they had never before seen such strong evidence that sports organizations were failing to protect their players.
A 2015 report by rights group Human Rights Watch named 32 football teams — including the US national team, as well as England’s and Australia�