国际足联必须抓住最后的改革机会

Sepp Blatter’s resignation as president of Fifa is good news for world football. But “Blaxit”, as his departure plan has been dubbed, will not alone deliver the overhaul the organisation needs. Fifa is a deeply corrupt body that requires a complete reconstruction of its governance if it is to gain a shred of international respect. Should reform not follow swiftly, the case for abolition will become unanswerable.

塞普•布拉特(Sepp Blatter)辞去国际足联(FIFA)主席一职对世界足球运动来说是个好消息。但他的离去（被戏称为“Blaxit”）还不足以为该组织带来所需的彻底变革。深陷腐败的国际足联若想获得丝毫国际尊重的话，就必须全面重建自身的治理机制。如果改革不能迅速跟上的话，主席下台也无济于事。

For years, those angered by corruption allegations at Fifa have rightly called for Mr Blatter to go. There can be no doubt that bribery has flourished during his 17-year term of office, whatever his personal involvement may have been. But it is important to remember that Fifa’s bad reputation preceded his presidency. Mr Blatter’s predecessor, the Brazilian João de Havelange, was found guilty of taking bribes from a marketing company.

多年来，那些愤怒于有关国际足联的腐败指控的人一直在以充分的理由呼吁布拉特下台。毫无疑问，贿赂在他17年的任职期间蔚然成风，无论他本人是否曾参与其中。但重要的是要记住，在他担任主席之前，国际足联就早已有了坏名声。布拉特的前任、巴西人若昂•阿维兰热(João de Havelange)就被判定收受一家营销公司的贿赂。

The problem with Fifa lies in its structure. It generates billions of dollars in each four-year World Cup cycle largely by selling television viewing rights. A large chunk of these revenues are paid out to the 209 national football associations, often in the form of cheques handed to individual FA presidents at Fifa congresses.

国际足联的问题在于其组织结构。每次四年一届的世界杯期间，它都可以通过出售电视转播权获得数十亿美元的收入。这些收入大部分被支付给209个国家的足球协会，而且通常是在国际足联代表大会上以支票形式交给各国足协主席本人。

What happens to this money is not always clear. Some goes towards “developing football” in member states, some is said to have found its way into accounts controlled by regional soccer officials. The point is that these payments to grateful FA presidents are the lifeblood of a patronage culture that has guaranteed Mr Blatter’s repeated re-election.

这些钱最后的流向并非总是可循。有些用于成员国“发展足球运动”，有些据说是流进了由当地足协官员控制的账户。关键是，这些交给心存感激的足协主席的钱款是国际足联庇护文化的命脉，正是这一文化保证了布拉特多次连任。

Fifa can only end this system by taking drastic action. It must abandon its legal status as a Swiss not-for-profit sporting association, with no obligation to publish accounts or meet basic requirements for transparency. As one Swiss MP said this week, an organisation that manages billions cannot operate “like a yodelling club”.

国际足联只能通过采取釜底抽薪式的行动结束这种体制。它必须放弃作为一家瑞士非盈利体育协会的法律地位——没有义务公开账目或满足基本的透明度要求。正如一位瑞士议员本周表示，一家管理着数十亿美元的组织不能“像约德尔调(yodelling)俱乐部一样”运作。

Instead, Fifa should run itself as a public company, subjecting its activities to proper reporting disciplines. Among these would be the need to have independent board members and external accountants. The organisation should set up a system to ensure that money paid to national FAs is used for its proper purpose.

相反，国际足联应该像上市公司一样运作，让自己的活动遵守适当的报告规定。这其中就需要有独立的董事会成员以及外部的会计师。国际足联应该建立一种机制，确保支付给各国足协的资金用于其真正目的。

For now, there is little sign that Fifa’s top management has embraced the need for radical change. Puzzlingly, it has allowed Mr Blatter to stay in his job for up to nine more months. His credibility is spent and he should go at once. Much of the media, meanwhile, is fixated on the question of who might succeed him. This fails to recognise that Fifa’s problems will not be solved simply by allowing 209 FAs, many of whom are wedded to “business as usual”, to pick another Fifa-fixer of the traditional stripe.

就目前而言，几乎没有迹象表明国际足联高层已经接受有必要进行彻底变革。令人困惑的是，它还允许布拉特继续留任最长达9个月的时间。布拉特信誉已失，应该立马走人。同时，大部分媒体都在关注谁有可能接替他的问题。这未能认识到：国际足联的问题不会仅仅通过让209名各国足协主席（其中很多人佯装“若无其事”）选出另一位继承传统衣钵的掌门人而得到解决。

Instead, change will probably have to be forced from outside. Fifa should ask an unpaid external body to examine how it operates and propose a completely new governance structure. A report by George Mitchell, the former US Senator, played a vital role reforming the International Olympic Committee after the bribery scandal surrounding the 2002 Winter Games.

相反，变革很可能不得不通过外部施压来进行。国际足联应该邀请一家不取酬劳的外部机构检查其运作情况，并提出一种全新的治理结构。在围绕2002年冬奥会的贿赂丑闻曝光后，美国前参议员乔治•米切尔(George Mitchell)的一份报告对国际奥委会(International Olympic Committee)的改革发挥了重要作用。

The barons of world football need to recognise what is at stake. The World Cup is a phenomenally popular competition whose matches are well organised. Across the globe, there is trust that the four-yearly contest is played fairly.

世界足球领域的巨头们需要认识到问题孰轻孰重。世界杯是一项广受欢迎的体育竞赛，赛事活动也组织得井然有序。在全球范围内，人们相信这项四年一届的赛事是公平进行的。

But the stench coming from Fifa’s Zurich headquarters is beginning to overwhelm the tournament’s reputation. With Mr Blatter’s slow-motion exit, a precious window of opportunity for Fifa to reform itself has opened. It will not stay open indefinitely.

但国际足联苏黎世总部散发的恶臭已经开始毁掉这项赛事的声誉。布拉特的缓缓退出为国际足联改革自身打开了珍贵的机会之窗，但它不会一直开着。