The US Senate will hold a hearing into Fifa and international football – and the United States’ role within it, the Republican senator Jerry Moran has revealed.
“Soccer is by far the most popular sport in the world, and it is attracting a wider audience by the day in the United States,” Moran said in a statement.
“Children across America and the globe look up to athletes as role models, and professional sports must be held to the highest standards. The recent revelations of bribery and mismanagement at FIFA should be of concern to us all.”
Moran is chairman of the subcommittee on consumer protection and will hold a hearing entitled Examining the Governance and Integrity of International Soccer on 15 July.
Dan Flynn, the CEO and secretary general of the United States Soccer Federation, has been called as a witness at the hearing along with the Scottish journalist Andrew Jennings, who has written about Fifa corruption and whose evidence was used by the FBI as part of its ongoing investigation.
A statement issued by the sub-committee said: “The hearing will examine the integrity and impending leadership changes at Fifa, the role of the US in international soccer, and concerns about the labor conditions of workers in Qatar, the host of the 2022 World Cup.”.
Moran said the hearing will look at human rights issues in Qatar as well as the role of the US within Fifa.
He said: “The recent revelations of bribery and mismanagement at Fifa should be of concern to us all. The organisation’s culture of corruption is turning a blind eye to significant human rights violations and the tragic loss of lives.
“This hearing on the recent Fifa scandals will begin the discussion about our country’s own participation in the organisation, ways the United States and our allies can work to reform Fifa, and how we can restore integrity to the game so many Americans and citizens of the world enjoy.”
Michael Hershman, a member of the advisory board of the Doha-based International Centre for Sport Security, will also testify at the hearing, as will Sunjeev Bery, Amnesty International’s Advocacy Director for the Middle East and North Africa.
The human rights group issued a report in May on the working conditions in Qatar, particularly for migrant laborers.