I build a giant in the Premier League

Chapter 340 The Biggest Beneficiary! An Unprecedented Reform! If they can't be dignified, we'll force them to be dignified! [Please Subscribe]

Following Yang Cheng's call to action, more and more people in the football community have bravely stepped forward.

In an interview with AS, Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez publicly demanded that FIFA and UEFA come up with a solution to the current situation as soon as possible.

"They must present a convincing reform plan to regain public confidence in football!"

Besides Real Madrid, Juventus' Andrea Agnelli, Manchester City's Mubarak, Bayern Munich's Rummenigge, and others have all stepped forward to publicly pressure FIFA and UEFA.

These club executives believe that what happened in Zurich has caused FIFA and UEFA to completely lose the trust of fans around the world.

This is unprecedented in the world of football.

Therefore, both institutions must demonstrate sufficient resolve and promptly provide a reform plan.

During the interviews, the club executives all agreed that the reform plan needed to include the club's voice.

In addition to the club's top management, FA chairman Greg Dyke also came forward to say that the newly re-elected chairman Blatter, who had only been in office for a few hours, and the UEFA president had been taken away.

Although it was just assisting in the investigation, it left everyone disappointed by the corruption issues within FIFA and UEFA over the years. "At this point, I don't think this organization has the power to push for reform within itself."

Amidst the public outcry, David Gill, the newly elected FIFA Vice President, UEFA Vice President, and FA Vice President, also made a public appearance, giving an interview to reporters in Zurich, Switzerland.

David Gill expressed his regret over what happened last night and apologized to fans around the world on behalf of FIFA.

David Gill said that because what happened last night came so suddenly, no one was prepared.

Currently, the core management of FIFA and UEFA is in a state of shutdown.

"We are planning to convene an emergency FIFA Congress, but first we must understand what has happened."

David Gill believes that FIFA and UEFA executives such as Blatter, Valcke, Platini, Infantino, and Villar were only asked by the Swiss prosecutor's office to assist in the investigation.

Further investigation is needed to determine the specifics.

"If they do indeed have problems such as corruption, then we will definitely take it seriously!"

However, a reporter from the media at the scene raised a question.

That is, what if Blatter did make a mistake, there was a problem, and the evidence was conclusive, and he was even sentenced by the Swiss prosecutor's office, but he refused to step down?
Because in the current operating mechanisms of FIFA and UEFA, the president has a great deal of power.

You could even say he's a dictator!
What if they refuse to resign?

Under the current rules of FIFA and UEFA, there is actually no way to impose the necessary penalties on them.

Because they cannot punish themselves!
David Gill stated that this is also one of the key topics to be discussed at the upcoming FIFA Congress.

However, there is currently no good solution.

David Gill believes that if their problems are confirmed by the Swiss prosecutor's office, they should take responsibility themselves instead of letting FIFA or UEFA take the blame for them.

Of course, if they refuse to take responsibility, FIFA and UEFA will find a solution.

"That will be a difficult, courageous, but correct decision!"

David Gill is the first FIFA official to step forward for an interview and face the public directly.

But his answer was clearly unsatisfactory.

Especially when everyone saw that even if the presidents of FIFA and UEFA committed crimes, even if the evidence was conclusive, no one could force them to be dignified if they were unwilling to do so.

To paraphrase a line from an article in The New York Times.

"This time, the actions of the U.S. Department of Justice have made it clear to the whole world why Blatter is called the Emperor of World Football!"

……

Amid a global outcry, FIFA held an emergency meeting at its headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland.

Just yesterday, the FIFA presidential election was held here.

Who would have thought that just one day later, the discussion would turn to the crimes committed by the newly re-elected FIFA president?

Countless media reporters from around the world are stationed outside FIFA headquarters, waiting for the latest news.

The entire meeting lasted a full day.

Apart from the lunch break, the rest of the time was spent in intense "discussions".

Yes, whether it's real-time reporting by media reporters or live broadcasts by television news, the word "intense" was used.

As the Sun reporter noted, the arguing could be heard from inside the venue even from outside.

"They've accomplished nothing but arguing all day!"

This is the conclusion reached by The Sun.

And the final result did indeed disappoint everyone.

The only consensus reached by everyone was that Blatter, Valcke, Platini, Infantino, and Bilal, among others, would be temporarily suspended from their duties pending the results of the Swiss prosecutor's office's investigation.

As the delegates walked out of the conference hall, each of them answered reporters' questions in a very dignified and righteous manner.

But if you listen carefully, you'll find that they didn't say anything at all.

In an interview with reporters, David Gill expressed his regret, saying, "It's very regrettable that we couldn't reach any agreement!"

David Gill declined to disclose the content of the meeting.

The Times subsequently published a commentary that vividly described the current state of FIFA.

"During this impromptu meeting, these elderly people still failed to recognize the reality of the situation. They saw themselves as a government that rules over world football, rather than a multinational corporation."

"If you were one of the rulers of this government, would you want to bring in foreign powers?"

The debate continued unabated into the following day.

Even on the third day, it was still the same.

This gives everyone the impression that these old guys can really keep arguing like this endlessly.

But can the media reporters and fans around the world keep following FIFA news like this?
Perhaps, if a big news story breaks somewhere tomorrow, it will immediately attract everyone's attention.

There's nothing that can be done about it, not even by the media or fans around the world.

Can only wait.

On the afternoon of the third day, the meeting was finally suspended.

But the argument didn't resolve anything; instead, Blatter, Valcke, Platini, Infantino, and Villar were released.

Although they have been released, they are required not to leave Switzerland and must be available for questioning by the Swiss prosecutor's office at any time.

The Swiss prosecutor's office also held a press conference in the afternoon to explain the whole process to the public.

The Swiss prosecutor's office stated that the investigation into the five FIFA and UEFA officials is ongoing.

However, specific progress cannot be disclosed at this time.

Regarding the reason for this incident, the Swiss prosecutor's office stated that the Swiss government has been cracking down on sports corruption for the past few years and has achieved some success.

This is just the latest achievement in the fight against sports corruption.

"To date, there are approximately 65 international sports federations and organizations in Switzerland, including the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne, FIFA in Zurich, UEFA in Nyon, and world governing bodies for sports such as gymnastics, cycling, volleyball, basketball, skiing, and ice hockey."

"They received generous tax breaks and flexible legal policies in Switzerland, but this inevitably led to more corruption problems."

"This is a long and protracted war!"

The Swiss prosecutor's office has called on international sports governing bodies in Switzerland to exercise self-regulation and self-discipline, and to increase the transparency of their operations.

However, the Neue Zürcher Zeitung stated that the Swiss government did not intend to specifically target these international sports governing bodies, but was more pressured by international public opinion.

After all, the corruption problems in many institutions are indeed too outrageous.

It's 2015 already, and they're still acting so recklessly!
Now that the United States has taken action, can Switzerland still remain calm?

But the benefits of these international organizations for Switzerland are also obvious.

As early as 2007, a survey showed that in the Swiss canton of Vaud alone, which is the region where Lausanne is located, these international sports organizations brought 1400 high-paying jobs and $2 million in tax revenue to the canton of Vaud every year.

This is just the canton of Vaud, what about the whole of Switzerland?

Given this situation, how could Switzerland possibly be willing to completely eradicate these international organizations?
Blatter, Platini, and others held a press conference at a hotel in Zurich on the same day they regained their freedom, stating that they were innocent and were simply cooperating with the investigation.

Blatt stated that all the rumors circulating outside were unfounded.

As for his voluntary resignation...

"That's impossible. I didn't do anything wrong, so why would I resign voluntarily?"

However, Blatter stated that FIFA's current state has indeed reached a point where a complete overhaul is necessary.

Regarding how to reform, Blatter said that it would have to wait until he returned to his post and convened a congress to discuss and decide on the matter.

"But I can guarantee that this will be the most significant institutional reform in history!"

Will external oversight be introduced?

"Of course, I've never objected to that!"

“We established the IGC (International Federation of Football Associations) Independent Governance Committee in 2011, consisting of 13 members, including senior anti-corruption and legal experts, and this has always been in my work plan.”

Blatter responded for the first time to Yang Cheng, who has been lauded by many media outlets and fans as a pioneer in the fight against corruption in world football: "He is my friend, and I have always hoped to find an opportunity to have a good talk with him."

"I believe he should be able to offer me and FIFA a lot of practical and valuable advice."

……

"Blatter wants to see me?"

When Yang Cheng met David Gill in London, the latter brought him some news that made Yang Cheng laugh.

Although he had already seen it in the media.

"I thought he was just joking." Yang Cheng found it amusing.

But David Gill said very seriously, "He is serious."

Yang Cheng was genuinely surprised.

But on second thought, it's actually quite normal.

Blatter's consistent approach has been to suppress if possible, and to co-opt if suppression fails.

They offered various conditions to recruit those rebels.

More importantly, Blatter now needs Yang Cheng to appease all the media and fans and quell public opinion.

"We absolutely cannot let Blatt come back!" Yang Cheng solemnly reminded him.

David Gill nodded solemnly.

But soon, the Englishman let out a heavy sigh.

"Actually, after these past few days of meetings with these people, my biggest feeling is exhaustion."

After saying that, David Gill let out another tired and helpless sigh.

"How to say?"

"Actually, there are quite a few voices within FIFA calling for reform, but as the media has said, the whole meeting was just arguing and it was difficult to reach a conclusion."

Upon hearing this, Yang Cheng found it somewhat amusing.

He had anticipated this scenario.

It's impossible for more than two hundred people not to argue when they get together.

This actually involves a long-standing controversy.

That is efficiency.

As an international organization, FIFA's major decisions often need to take into account the differences in economics, culture, and other aspects among countries, and need to balance various political influences.

In particular, the independence of FIFA must be taken into account.

The principle of "not discussing politics" is not just an empty phrase in FIFA, continental football federations, and even national football associations and leagues.

Having to consider so many things naturally leads to complex games and trade-offs.

Putting everything else aside, who will host the World Cup, which is held every four years?

If this one point were brought up for public discussion, believe it or not, the World Cup would never be held!

To some extent, for organizations like FIFA to be efficient, there will inevitably be a lot of behind-the-scenes deals; this is unavoidable.

In fact, the reason why governments around the world have turned a blind eye to organizations like FIFA over the years is precisely because of this; no one could do anything about it.

Not to mention those two hundred-plus representatives, even the executive committee, which now has 24 members, still argues during meetings.

Everyone has their own interests and demands, making it difficult to reach a consensus.

Therefore, over the years, Havelange and Blatter's usual practice has been to operate behind closed doors and exchange favors.

However, over time, the accumulation of corruption inevitably led to a systemic collapse.

Yang Cheng has actually been thinking about a question these past few days.

What should FIFA do next?
How should we reform?
In 2011, FIFA actually underwent a major reform.

This refers to the IGC (International Federation of Football Associations) Independent Governance Committee, which Blatter mentioned in an interview with reporters.

The IGC has members from both within and outside FIFA, the most famous of whom is Marc Piss, a Swiss anti-corruption expert.

Mark Pease is the founder of the Basel Institute for Governance, a leading international law firm specializing in white-collar crime and Swiss criminal law, headquartered in Basel.

Mark Pies has over thirty years of legal experience and an impressive professional resume. He has extensive experience in areas such as economic crimes including corruption, money laundering, and fraud, as well as Swiss law in domestic and international litigation.

He served as a professor of criminal law at the University of Basel for 27 years and played important legal roles in many international organizations.

In 2011, FIFA appointed him as the head of the IGC, to work with the other 12 members to reform FIFA's organizational structure.

However, IGC only existed for one year.

One of the major reforms they implemented within FIFA during that year was the dismantling of the Ethics Committee, which was established in 2006.

At this point, it is necessary to mention a very important premise, which is that within FIFA, including the continental football federations and national football associations, there is a common unspoken rule: not to resort to national laws.

Simply put, internal conflicts are resolved internally.

This is actually understandable.

Once conflicts between members become public, they can easily escalate into conflicts between nations, which directly rises to the political level and becomes very troublesome.

It could even get completely out of control.

After all, the world is not peaceful, and there are still many historical conflicts and hatred between countries.

If FIFA gets bogged down in this, it simply cannot continue.

Since the issue is to be resolved internally, there needs to be an internal judicial body.

FIFA has three internal judicial bodies: the Disciplinary Committee, which mainly targets member associations, clubs, officials, players, agents, and other parties involved in the competition.

There is also the Appeals Board, which is mainly responsible for handling appeals against decisions of the Disciplinary Committee.

Although the Appeals Board’s final decision is binding on all parties, an appeal can be made to the Court of Arbitration for Sport if the parties disagree.

The third, and most powerful, is the Ethics Committee, established in 2006. Its main responsibility is to investigate and adjudicate violations of FIFA's code of ethics, including anti-corruption investigations.

From 2006 to 2012, the Ethics Committee was a mere formality, as it held absolute power, answered only to the FIFA president, and was itself deeply mired in corruption.

Therefore, after 2011, FIFA, under external pressure, invited Mark Pies and others to form the IGC, and the first thing they did was to split up the Ethics Committee.

Isn't the duty of the ethics committee to investigate and adjudicate?

Alright, let's separate the two major powers and responsibilities, turning them into an investigative court and a trial court.

According to Mark Pease and others, splitting up the ethics committee was only the first step, with the aim of internal anti-corruption efforts.

The next step is to establish a completely new governance structure.

In addition, looking back from 2015, IGC had another very important achievement.

Garcia Report!
American Garcia is also one of the 13 members of the IGC, and he was brought to FIFA by Mark Pease.

As a result, this disruptive force caused FIFA to go into chaos, resulting in the Garcia Report.

This demonstrates the significant influence that the IGC had on FIFA at the time.

Why was this organization dissolved after only one year?

One of the most important measures in the second phase of reforms proposed by the IGC is to impose strict age and term limits on all FIFA members.

At the same time, they will conduct due diligence on officials of various executive committees within FIFA.

According to Mark Pease and others, this is a perfectly normal thing that all large multinational corporations would do.

How can you know who in your organization is capable and who is not if you don't conduct internal due diligence, such a large organization as FIFA?
But FIFA is clearly acting abnormally.

Good grief, this has directly stirred up a hornet's nest.

Blatter would be the first to object!
Restricting age and term of office—isn't that restricting myself?
I'm not stupid!

The IGC has caused a great deal of controversy within FIFA, but it hasn't really attracted much attention from the outside world.

Many FIFA officials, even executive committee members, agree with the IGC reform plan.

But in reality, everyone has their own little notebook.

For example, Mark Pies's staunch supporter, former FIFA Executive Committee member and German Football Association President Theo Zwanzig.

This elderly German man still frequently goes to the media to comment.

Including recently, he has frequently come forward to say how he supported reforms back then, only to be framed as a result.

Actually?

When Germany was bidding to host the 2006 World Cup in 2002, Zwanzig used bribery, including giving AFC President Hammam 1000 million Swiss francs.

The key point is that after the matter was exposed, he still did not resign voluntarily. In the end, even the German Football Association couldn't stand it anymore and demanded that he resign voluntarily.

In short, this was also a farce.

Therefore, there are actually various different opinions within FIFA regarding reform.

Everyone has their own interests and demands. Yang Cheng has actually been thinking about this matter for some time now.

In fact, it wasn't just IGC's reform that failed.

In Yang Cheng's previous life, after Blatter and Platini stepped down, Infantino rose to prominence and took over FIFA.

At the time, Infantino launched a sweeping reform, including age limits, term limits, and various other reforms.

He seems very decisive, but what is he really like?

This is nothing more than Infantino's delaying tactic.

In 2021, once Infantino had consolidated his power, the first thing he did was remove Hans Josim Ekert, the chief prosecutor of the ethics committee.

Instead, Colombian lawyer Maria Claudia Rojas took over.

By appointing such personnel to control the ethics committee, and thus projecting his will onto this internal anti-corruption agency, Infantino greatly expanded his power.

Judging from this series of actions, Yang Cheng believes that the biggest problem with FIFA's anti-corruption efforts is the lack of institutional independence.

For example, an ethics committee.

FIFA always says that three of the four independent commissions are judicial bodies.

The Ethics Committee is frequently cited as evidence of FIFA's determination to combat corruption within the organization.

But look closer, and you'll see that the head of this organization can be dismissed or replaced at the chairman's whim.

As Luo Chuizi said: They are all being kept by sugar daddies, so where is the independent and objective third party?
Now that David Gill couldn't go any further, Yang Cheng went along with it and offered his own suggestion.

"Let's put aside Blatter and the others for now, focus on the greater good, and use the pressure from public opinion to reform FIFA's statutes!"

"The first step is to reform the 24-member executive committee and expand it into a 36-member council, selected from 209 representatives."

David Gill paused for a moment. "Impossible, they won't agree."

Yang Cheng smiled and said, "Think about it again. Of the 24 members of the executive committee, how many are left? If it's expanded to a 36-member council, how many representatives will have the opportunity to join?"

David Gill paused for a moment, then immediately realized the crux of the problem.

Once the English understood the key to this, they were immediately amazed!

What a genius!
After the actions of the US and Swiss governments, more than half of the 24-member executive committee were removed.

Of the remaining people, who wouldn't want to join the 36-person council?

These people will definitely support the reform!

"The management and operation are separated. The Council is responsible for FIFA's overall business strategy, development direction, official selection and financial approval, while the various executive committees below are handled by professionals."

As a result, the executive committee, which originally consisted of 24 people and held absolute power, was immediately split in two. Although it was expanded to 36 people, the executive committee was also separated.

"A supervisory board will be established, operating parallel to the board of directors and completely independent of it. There is no subordinate relationship between the two. The supervisory board will attend board meetings and will have compliance oversight powers such as accessing documents, auditing financial reports, and conducting due diligence on officials."

"The supervisory board does not participate in the board's decision-making or the executive committee's operations, but it has the power to investigate officials' misconduct and to propose the removal of officials who have failed in their duties."

If David Gill hadn't seen the changes in the previous council reforms, the Englishmen understood them completely when it came to the supervisory board.

This is an attempt to diminish the power of the FIFA president!
Although they do not participate in specific decision-making and implementation, the council has the power of questioning and impeachment, and can also supervise officials.

Isn't this like hanging a sword over the head of the FIFA president?

This is a bit outrageous!
"That might be a bit difficult, as FIFA's current statutes do not include a supervisory board or a council."

"That's why we said we need to reform the charter."

Yang Cheng also saw through David Gill's little scheme.

To put it bluntly, if someone had the chance to become the president of FIFA, who would want to share power with someone else?

"Of course, the power of the supervisory board should not be too great, otherwise it will exacerbate internal friction within the organization. Therefore, it is best for the supervisory board to be staffed by people outside of FIFA, somewhat similar to independent directors of listed companies."

Upon hearing this, David Gill fully understood the benefits of the mechanism that Yang Cheng had outlined.

From an organizational perspective, such a reform is radical and requires unprecedented boldness.

But the most crucial part here is the establishment of the board of supervisors.

In theory, the chairman of the supervisory board is almost equal to the FIFA president, who is also the chairman of the council.

However, he is independent of FIFA.

Isn't this exactly the kind of external oversight that the outside world has been calling for?
FIFA urgently needs a strong and powerful "independent director" to endorse its credibility and convince the world's media and fans of FIFA's determination and courage to reform.

This could help FIFA overcome its current crisis of confidence.

As Yang Cheng said before, the biggest problem with organizations like FIFA is trust.

He must gain the trust of fans all over the world!
All things considered, who is more suitable for this position than Yang Cheng right now?

David Gill even wondered if Yang Cheng had planned this from the very beginning.

It's like he got Blatter, Platini, and others imprisoned?
He became the biggest beneficiary!
But then I thought, given Yang Cheng and the power behind him, why would he need to do this?

From a purely institutional perspective, Yang Cheng's proposed institutional reform is indeed excellent and highly feasible.

If the 36-member council is offered a proposal, the chances of it passing are very high.

“David, Blatter, and Platini have all come out; they’re definitely trying to mediate.”

Yang Cheng looked at David Gill and added fuel to the fire.

"Now, we absolutely cannot let them rise from the ashes, otherwise, I will be fine, but those who oppose him will definitely suffer."

The fact that Blatt was willing to talk to him proves that Yang Cheng has strong united front value for him.

"After the institutional reform, the supervisory board can naturally conduct financial audits. You have a background in finance, so you must know that even if FIFA is a mess, we can still get what we want from it."

"The Swiss prosecutor's office currently estimates that there is not enough evidence, but if we hand over these documents, it will be enough to send Blatter and Platini back in jail!"

"If they still don't want to be dignified by then, then we'll make them be dignified!"

David Gill is a smart man.

He is very aware that he is now the Vice President of FIFA.

But actually?
How many people listen to him?
Whom can he command?
If we follow Yang Cheng's advice and launch this reform to force Blatter to step down, he will have Yang Cheng's support and ascend to the position of FIFA president. Although he will be subject to supervision and his power will be curbed, it will still be better than it is now.

Conversely, if he refuses to cooperate, it's hard to say what the outcome will be.

At least, given his current situation, without Yang Cheng's support, he shouldn't even think about becoming the FIFA president!
"I understand!"

David Gill immediately understood this.

"I'll return to Zurich overnight and start preparations tomorrow. I'll propose inviting you to attend the FIFA Congress as an observer!"

Upon hearing this, Yang Cheng immediately burst into laughter.

Talking to smart people is so much easier!
As long as you appear at the FIFA Congress, many things will become unavoidable for these delegates to support!
Want to keep making noise?

Believe it or not, I'll go out and expose your shameful deeds to the media.
……

Yang Cheng had actually made two preparations.

After David Gill left, he gave a joint interview to several authoritative media outlets, including The Times and The Guardian, the following day.

In this interview, Yang Cheng stated that he did not want to meet with Blatter.

"I don't know what the point of this meeting is?"

Yang Cheng also expressed his deep disappointment that FIFA has been unable to reach a conclusion for so long.

"I don't know the specific reason, because I wasn't qualified to attend as an observer!"

Yang Cheng's words were immediately amplified by the media.

Various voices have also begun to emerge in the media and online, questioning whether FIFA had said it would introduce external oversight.
Then we should start with this FIFA Congress!
Inviting Yang Cheng to sit in on the meeting would be a perfect opportunity.

"As an anti-corruption fighter, Yang Cheng's struggles against Blatter, Platini, and others over the past period have been witnessed by the whole world."

"Now, having him attend the FIFA Congress as an observer is, in my opinion, a very good opportunity for FIFA to further enhance its transparency!"

"At the very least, it shows us FIFA's determination to reform!"

"If they are hesitant and unable to do even such small things, how can we believe that they are determined to carry out internal reforms?"

From the day Yang Cheng stood up to oppose Blatter and Platini, he became the center of public opinion and the focus of everyone's attention.

The vast majority of FIFA members oppose allowing outsiders to attend the FIFA Congress as observers.

The reason is simple: they believe it would interfere with FIFA's normal decision-making.

However, as soon as the news broke, it immediately sparked criticism from the media and a public outcry.

Normal decision-making?

Does the presence of an outsider in the audience prevent FIFA from making proper decisions?
Yang Cheng went even further, directly speaking out in the media and questioning FIFA.

"Are your normal decision-making processes so shameful that they can't be shown to the public?"

"By 2015, after so many things had happened, do you still think you're normal?"

Public opinion has once again reached a fever pitch!

For two consecutive days, FIFA has been under tremendous public pressure.

David Gill made frequent proposals within FIFA and received support from many reformists.

Finally, the FIFA Congress officially extended an invitation to Yang Cheng.

When Yang Cheng flew from London to Zurich, he checked into the most luxurious suite at the Barlác Hotel, which is known as the most luxurious hotel in the world.

Yang Cheng met with FIFA vice presidents, including David Gill, in his hotel room.

They then attended a press conference together and were interviewed by reporters.

"I am very proud to receive the invitation from FIFA. I believe that FIFA has taken a positive first step!"

Yang Cheng promised that he would give interviews to the media every day thereafter, relaying all the information he had seen and could reveal to the media and fans.

"Of course, there are some things that are not convenient to talk about at the moment, please forgive my confidentiality!"

And as it turns out, with Yang Cheng's participation, the FIFA Congress became significantly more efficient in discussing matters.

The previous noisy situation has obviously improved a lot.

Although their opinions still differed and neither could convince the other, at least they had something to say.

To paraphrase what Yang Cheng said to David Gill after the meeting.

"They weren't as noisy as you complained before, and the meeting wasn't as chaotic as you said."

What can David Gill say besides a wry smile?
Subsequently, David Gill proposed reforms to FIFA's statutes and put forward a comprehensive reform plan.

For example, reforms to institutions such as the supervisory board, board of directors, and committees have sparked considerable controversy.

But as Yang Cheng predicted, the offer of 36 seats on the council attracted great interest from many FIFA representatives.

For them, this is a completely new opportunity!

To Yang Cheng's surprise, the committee's reforms did not encounter much resistance.

A key reason is that these committees were never originally in the hands of these representatives.

Or rather, they don't hold the main power.

In the past, which of those lucrative committees wasn't firmly in the hands of Blatt and his cronies?

Moreover, these people are largely just figureheads.

What kind of professionals are they?
Aren't they all just holding the title of "top leader" while delegating tasks to their subordinates?

Nowadays, separating the execution and operation aspects and handing them over to professionals doesn't actually cause any loss for many people.

Anything that doesn't result in loss is easier to reform.

As expected, the voices of opposition were the loudest among the supervisory board members.

Just as they had previously opposed Yang Cheng attending as an observer, they now also oppose the establishment of the supervisory board.

The reason is simple: who wants to find someone to supervise them?
Just as everyone was about to start arguing again, Yang Cheng, who hadn't said a word, took the opportunity to cough twice while drinking water.

The microphone was forgotten to be turned off.

For a moment, everyone in the room fell silent.

During the past few days of meetings, Yang Cheng has kept a very low profile and hasn't said a single word.

As a result, they started to let themselves go again and forgot that such a person even existed.

who is this?

The world's number one head coach!

They just won their fourth consecutive Champions League title!
When everyone else dared not speak up, he dared to stand up alone and challenge the authority of Blatter and Platini!

Today, he is a figure who has received support and backing from fans all over the world!

Once everyone realized this, they couldn't help but reconsider their own views.

From the moment Yang Cheng walked into the meeting room, reform became an inevitable trend, unstoppable.

Finally, after several days of consultations, a vote was held to establish the board of supervisors!

In other words, the main framework of the entire reform plan has been determined!

The FIFA Congress also has some regulations regarding the members of the Supervisory Board.

For example, the unique nature of football must be fully considered, so although the members of the supervisory board are independent of FIFA, they cannot be completely unrelated to football.

Therefore, the members mainly come from players, club officials, league representatives, football association officials, football journalists, sponsor representatives, and so on.

Because it also needs to oversee and assist FIFA in its institutional reforms, the Supervisory Board also needs to invite professional anti-corruption experts, such as Mark Pies and other core experts from the original IGC.

The initial plan is to have nine members on the first board of supervisors, including one chairman.

……

After several days of meetings, when FIFA officially announced its reform plan, media and fans around the world expressed their approval.

In particular, FIFA's Supervisory Board, which introduced an external oversight mechanism, received very high praise.

When interviewed by reporters, Yang Cheng even deliberately pointed at Blatter and said, "This is truly an unprecedented reform!"

FIFA has only carried out preliminary framework reforms this time, and the specific plans still need to be further improved.

Especially the numerous details.

But there's one thing we must strike while the iron is hot.

David Gill proposed that an election for the chairman of the supervisory board be initiated immediately.

This immediately garnered support from numerous FIFA representatives.

We've already come this far, one last push won't make a difference!
Although the board of supervisors has supervisory responsibilities, they are not well involved in how to operate it, and it is indeed necessary to quickly elect someone to take charge.

So, at the FIFA Congress the next day, David Gill was the first to propose that Yang Cheng serve as the first chairman of the Supervisory Board, and that he be responsible for the formation and selection of the Supervisory Board.

Of course, all of these must be submitted to the FIFA Congress for a vote.

Whether it was because Yang Cheng was present or not, he was ultimately elected with a unanimous vote.

This was clearly unexpected by Yang Cheng and David Gill.

Immediately after his election, Yang Cheng proposed an audit of FIFA's financial situation.

Furthermore, he will hire a professional third-party accounting firm to audit FIFA's finances.

Regarding the selection of members of the supervisory board, Yang Cheng stated that a list will be submitted in the near future.

Once all personnel are in place, the specific procedures for the board of supervisors will be discussed.

However, financial auditing is imperative.

Yang Cheng's reasons are also very valid; he must respond to public opinion as soon as possible, especially the questions that fans are most concerned about.

It was only at this moment that the delegates realized that 16 of their "colleagues" were to be extradited to the United States for trial, and that 5 of their superiors were required by the Swiss government to be available at any time to cooperate with the investigation.

Subsequently, FIFA held a press conference to officially introduce Yang Cheng's new identity.

The first chairman of the FIFA Supervisory Board!

At the press conference, Yang Cheng made a high-profile promise that he would form a supervisory board team as soon as possible, and would also begin auditing FIFA's financial situation over the past years.

"This will help resolve the issues between FIFA and the US and Swiss governments, and will effectively address the corruption concerns raised by fans and the media!"

At the scene, a reporter asked how the FIFA Supervisory Board planned to handle the matter if Blatter, Platini, and others were found to have committed corruption during the financial audit.

Yang Cheng replied with great certainty, "We will submit the evidence to the Swiss prosecutor's office!"

Regarding his decision, Yang Cheng stated that it will help further enhance FIFA's transparency, break the deadlock of past systemic corruption, and improve its credibility.

Yang Cheng stated that as a football head coach and also the Chinese owner of Beswater, he has been deeply involved in listening to the speeches of all the members of the FIFA Congress, especially in the past few days.

"I have come to deeply appreciate that football, the world's number one sport, is indeed unique, especially when it comes to dealing with the diverse differences and demands of 209 member countries and regions. Many of the rules in the past were not entirely bad."

"But I am even more aware that the recent shocking corruption is by no means accidental, nor did it happen overnight."

"We should change the shortcomings of the past internal operating mechanism and low self-governance efficiency, actively seek external judicial assistance, and carry out trials on a series of legal issues such as sports autonomy and judicial jurisdiction."

"I believe that at present, FIFA should actively reflect on and purify its own governance rules, improve the legal framework of its self-governance rules, effectively coordinate the organic combination of sports autonomy and external justice, and improve its organizational structure and operational efficiency."

Yang Cheng believes that only in this way can a more transparent and trustworthy FIFA be created!
Yang Cheng's remarks at the press conference were immediately disseminated by the media and quickly generated a huge response around the world.

Everyone realized that this time, FIFA's reforms were truly revolutionary.

At the very least, the once self-enclosed football kingdom has been opened up, and sunlight is shining in.

While Yang Cheng's remarks at the press conference garnered unanimous praise from media and fans worldwide, in Zurich, Switzerland, FIFA President Blatter, UEFA President Platini, and others looked ashen-faced.

They lost!

Utter defeat!
(End of this chapter)