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A wide-ranging look at football’s powerful but controversial governing body.
Football is the world’s most popular sport and truly a global phenomenon. As a result, it attracts huge sums of money from its advertisers, sponsors and broadcasters, much of which flows to FIFA, the sport’s international governing body. So, given its decidedly chequered history, the question of what FIFA is for is crucial to the game’s future.
Examining the organisation’s successes such as the explosion of interest in the women’s game, alongside its failures and continuing crises over corruption and ethics, Alan Tomlinson asks: what will it take for FIFA to genuinely live up to its own mission of integrity, fair play and accessibility?
“I have been reading Alan Tomlinson for over twenty years. This new work is well-researched, insightful and a testimony to the troubles that unfortunately still exist in sport today.” Steven Berryman, sports corruption investigator
"Professor Alan Tomlinson’s long-standing scholarship has been a beacon for those of us who have tried to challenge the culture of secrecy and impunity surrounding global football governance. What Is FIFA For? is a clear-eyed examination of an organization that has too often drifted far from the values it proclaims – integrity, fair play and transparency. As someone who has lived through some of FIFA’s darker corners, I read Alan Tomlinson’s latest work as both a warning and a call to action. If you care about the future of football, it is essential reading." Bonita Mersiades, Fair Play Publishing
“FIFA sets the rules of the game but, in today’s commercialized environment, it does much more besides. This book asks: should it?” Stephen Weatherill, University of Oxford
"A compelling and timely exploration of football’s most influential governing body. Professor Alan Tomlinson brings his unparalleled expertise and investigative acumen to deliver a rigorous, balanced and insightful analysis to unpack FIFA’s political dynamics, commercial strategies, and persistent challenges around corruption and ethics. This book asks the hard questions about integrity, fair play, and accessibility, making it essential reading for anyone who cares about the future of football." Louise Mansfield, Brunel University London
"A capstone text that draws from Tomlinson’s 40 years of empirical and theoretical investigations. It is a teachable book that is relevant to introductory courses on the sociology of sport, sports politics, and sport history." Sociology of Sport Journal
1 . Introduction: FIFA – What’s at Stake?
2 . FIFA and the Making of the Modern Game
3 . FIFA and its Members
4 . FIFA and its Commercial Partners
5 . ‘Good-looking Governance’: Investigating Corruption
6 . FIFA and the Americas
7 . FIFA in Africa and Asia: Challenges and Constraints
8. FIFA and the Women’s Game
9. A Law unto Itself?
10. Conclusion