FIFA's governing structure is comprised of a President, a General Secretary, a Congress with representatives from each affiliated member association and an assortment of committees including that of Finance, Disciplinary, and Referees. The Congress meets every year to discuss the association's implementation, with each member association accorded one vote irrespective of its size or its footballing strength. FIFA also recognizes six confederations that oversee the sport across the world's different continents and regions. Interestingly, FIFA has more member states than the United Nations, as it also recognizes non-sovereign entities and politically disputed territories like Palestine. The association does not control the rules of football, but is in charge of enforcing sanctions, such as the suspension of players or teams if they interfere with the proper functioning of the sport.
The main players are the FIFA officials from South America and North America, the sports marketing executives, the U.S. Department of Justice and Swiss authorities. As of early June 2015, the arrested officials in Zurich are waiting to be processed and extradited to the United States for prosecution. The FIFA officials charged include Jeffrey Webb, Eugenio Figueredo, Jack Warner, Eduardo Li, Julio Rocha Lopez, Costas Takkas, Rafael Esquivel, José Maria Marin and Nicolás Leoz. Notable high-ranking members from these individuals include Jeffrey Webb, the current vice president of FIFA and the former president of CONCACAF, the governing body for association football in North and Central America, as well as the Caribbean. There is also Jack Warner, the former Vice Present of FIFA and President of CONCACAF, positions he held until his suspension and resignation in 2011. Furthermore, an unidentified high-ranking official is alleged to have supplemented Mr. Warner with a $10 million payment in exchange for his vote in support of the 2010 South Africa World Cup. It is widely believed that the unidentified official is FIFA's Secretary General, Jerome Valcke.
On May 27th, 2015, 14 top FIFA officials and businessmen were indicted on charges of bribery, fraud and money laundering, totaling $150 million. Swiss authorities also arrested half of those charged in Zurich, on behalf of the United States Department of Justice, which had initiated an FBI-led investigation several years ago. According to U.S. attorney general, Loretta Lynch, these officials did not uphold the game's rules or protect the sport's integrity; instead, "they corrupted the business of worldwide soccer to serve their interests and enrich themselves." Meanwhile, Swiss federal prosecutors have also opened criminal proceedings concerning the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar respectively.
A first-winter World Cup will be held for the first time in 2022 in Qatar. Every other host country has held the tournament in the summer months. Among Qatar's infrastructure projects are the construction of stadiums, highways, and hotels. The country is spending a staggering $200 billion on these projects. This will be the most expensive World Cup. The main fan zone at the soccer World Cup in Qatar will charge 50 Qatari riyals ($13.73) for a half liter of beer. It is the smallest nation to host the World Cup ever, with only 4,416 square miles and 0.12 percent of the size of the United States. The 2010 World Cup was held during winter months in South Africa, which is in the Southern Hemisphere. The 2022 World Cup is the first one to be held in the months of Nov & Dec (instead of June & July)
When Qatar won the bid to host the 2022 World Cup, it became the first Arabic nation to host the competition since it was founded in 1930. Due to the fact Qatar is not known for its football heritage, many fans and supporters were concerned about the reasons why the country would be hosting the World Cup.
At the time, Sepp Blatter revealed that he wanted to take football "to new lands" in an effort to further "develop" the sport, but allegations of vote buying were made soon after as people did not believe these claims.
Following this, an independent investigation commissioned by FIFA found no evidence of corruption and Qatar denied all allegations of buying votes, so the 2022 World Cup is going ahead there as planned.
At the time, Sepp Blatter revealed that he wanted to take football "to new lands" in an effort to further "develop" the sport, but allegations of vote buying were made soon after as people did not believe these claims.
Following this, an independent investigation commissioned by FIFA found no evidence of corruption and Qatar denied all allegations of buying votes, so the 2022 World Cup is going ahead there as planned.