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Soccer

FIFA secrecy over plans to reform scandal-battered body

By FoxSports
Published | Updated

BERN, Switzerland (AP) The second meeting of the FIFA panel established to ''restore the integrity and reputation'' of soccer's scandal-battered governing body ended Sunday with secrecy imposed on the three days of meetings.

The reform committee is led by Francois Carrard, the former director general of the International Olympic Committee, who would not disclose what was discussed in the Swiss capital Bern beyond a vague statement.

''It's been a very positive session characterized by rich and in-depth discussions on all aspects of the proposal for the reforms package which is being prepared,'' Carrard said. ''I will provide a progress report with concrete recommendations to the FIFA executive committee at its extraordinary meeting on (Tuesday).''

FIFA declined to release these recommendations from the committee it established in a bid to show it could improve governance amid the worst corruption scandal in the organization's 111-year history.

When his appointment was announced in August, Carrard said his committee is ''vital for the future of global football to restore the integrity and reputation of its governing body.''

Carrard said Sunday that he expects to complete his reform proposals at the Nov. 19-20 meeting, adding: ''Our progress is on track.''

As Carrard's panel meets in secret, the only proposed reforms to be published have come from Domenico Scala, who has overseen FIFA's audit and compliance standards since 2012.

The Swiss businessman, who is not part of Carrard's committee, released a 29-page dossier last month that has been discussed by the panel. A key recommendation by Scala was shifting the power balance away from the elected members.

The existing executive committee under Scala's proposal would become a governing body elected by all 209 FIFA members with responsibility for ''strategic matters, supervision'' while a management board would take day-to-day decisions. A commercial board would deal with contracts and a development board would allocate funding to soccer projects.