We need transparency not just at FIFA, but also in club football

Inside World Football



If there is one subject everyone agrees on is that FIFA needs to be more accountable and transparent. Yet even as there is unanimity on this subject in one area of football there is so little transparency and information is so tightly controlled that it makes those who run the politburo in China look liberal and media friendly. This is in the area of how clubs communicate to the world.



Much has been made of Mike Ashley, the owner of Newcastle, barring all but one print media access when he appointed Steve McClaren as manager. But while this was extraordinary nearly all clubs make sure that information they give out regarding transfers, or other club activity, is on their terms and, increasingly, only to their own media outlets. So gone are the days when a new signing was paraded before a press conference. Now, somebody from the club's in house PR team interviews the player and this is then posted on the club's website. The same goes for almost all other clubs news.



Yes, managers do hold pre-match and post-match press conferences but this is more in the nature of a ritual with very limited information provided, not a genuine exercise in being open and accountable. And what makes the whole thing truly remarkable is such tight control by clubs has come when the appetite for football news is such that there is almost saturation coverage of football and a Premier League result can even make the mast head of a broadsheet paper.