The relatively recent scandal in FIFA is the direct result of organization’s previous involvement in a number of conflicts related to corruption. Specifically, in 2015, several FIFA officials were arrested on suspicion of taking bribes. FIFA president Joseph Blatter and several FIFA officials suppressed the issues in their attempts to save the face of the organization. FIFA’s desire to ‘save its face’ eventually led to one of the consequences outlined by Folger, Poole, and Stutman, such as the refusal to step back from a position, and the fact that the conflict issue was suppressed for a prolonged period of time (the first claims about bribing in FIFA were made back in 1990s). If the organization had not referred to ‘face-saving’ strategy, one of the possible alternatives for action would have been creating transparency in functioning of FIFA. Instead, FIFA authorities failed to manage the conflict successfully.
In 2015, several FIFA officials were arrested on suspicion of taking bribes. All this took place a few days before the election of the new head of the organization. The position of one of the candidates – incumbent President Joseph Blatter was sharply shaken.
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The situation in world football in recent years has changed drastically, yet, FIFA as an organization did not introduce the respective changes in its functioning. Greiner (1967) argues that the most successful organizations are in the constant process of change in order to raise the level of their effectiveness. FIFA officials, however, continued to postpone the necessary reforms, which has significantly reduced public trust to the organization. As a result, Blatter has been criticized by many experts, coaches and even colleagues (UEFA President Michel Platini) for conservatism in his approach to problem solving and decision-making. In addition, from time to time information about corrupt officials and bribe-takers would ‘leak’ to the press, which also affected the reputation of the organization. In the end, all this led to the need to change the head of the world football federation. The current campaign was held in the best traditions – tough, merciless, lightning fast and caused a huge resonance. Unfortunately, the goal was not achieved immediately and as a result of the elections the power dynamics in FIFA did not change. From this point of view, the organization’s resistance to change can be defined as one of the main reason behind the scandal/conflict. In addition, the organization’s desire to ‘save its face’ led to the situation, when the respective authorities within the organization refused to admit the incidence of bribes. As a result the conflict escalated and led to a big international scandal.
Whilst it still remains unknown whether or not the FIFA officials have indeed been involved in corruption, the reputation of FIFA as an organization has decreased significantly. This has also affected the main stakeholders, including the FIFA officials, sponsors, FBI, and the public. FIFA’s desire to ‘save its face’ eventually led to one of the consequences outlined by Folger, Poole, and Stutman, such as the refusal to step back from a position, and the fact that the conflict issue was suppressed for a prolonged period of time (the first claims about bribing in FIFA were made back in 1990s).
If the organization had not referred to ‘face-saving’ strategy, one of the possible alternatives for action would have been creating transparency in communication within FIFA. A special role of the FIFA president in the management of communication (both within the organization itself and among its members who communicate with representatives of the external environment) is determined by the cyclicity of communication. The communication cycle can be either positive (strengthening mutual trust, increasing the volume of information), or negative (the fall of mutual trust, the limitation of the volume of information). The goal of any communication is the exchange of information, which is of some interest for the realization of the goals of individuals involved in this communication. Individuals need good information, which, firstly, can provide them with a high-quality performance of tasks. Secondly, it will allow them to coordinate their actions taking into account the plans and intentions of the surrounding people. Whilst in the past control was considered one of the most effective ways of increasing organizational performance, today scholars agree on the important contribution of transparent communication to this process.
As it has been mentioned above, the successful communication strategy of FIFA should be reflected in media. In other words, given that the organization lost its reputation and its ‘face’, there is a strong need to rebuild the reputation. Communication strategy should typically address both what a company does and what it does not do. Regardless of the fact that FIFA publishes its reports and makes them transparent, the relatively recent arrests of FIFA officials show that the actual activity of the organization does not correspond to these claims. The issue was suppressed rather than resolved. Former FIFA president was constantly failing to fulfill the promises made by the organization. Indeed, the level of cynicism was so high, that it seriously affected FIFA’s reputation. From this point of view, new FIFA president should assess what the former president failed to do and has taken an approach to be different. In this situation, the chosen strategy required the integration of all marketing communications and operational implementation. To ensure that more people know about the campaign and to provide them with more detailed messages, the national press and international press should be used.
In conclusion, the relatively recent scandal in FIFA is the direct result of organization’s previous involvement in a number of conflicts related to corruption. Specifically, in 2015, several FIFA officials were arrested on suspicion of taking bribes. FIFA president Joseph Blatter and several FIFA officials suppressed the issues in their attempts to save the face of the organization. FIFA’s desire to ‘save its face’ eventually led to one of the consequences outlined by Folger, Poole, and Stutman, such as the refusal to step back from a position, and the fact that the conflict issue was suppressed for a prolonged period of time (the first claims about bribing in FIFA were made back in 1990s). If the organization had not referred to ‘face-saving’ strategy, one of the possible alternatives for action would have been creating transparency in functioning of FIFA. Instead, FIFA authorities failed to manage the conflict successfully.
