fifa hired an anti-racism task force to develop changes. they did that, so their job is done. all the changes and recommendations will be implemented and be a part of fifa now
talk about quote grabbing
Yeah...I'd rather talk about these quotes instead.
Today’s announcement that FIFA is disbanding its Anti-Racism Task Force, considering its work done, is incredibly worrying. The fight against racism is far from over and the notion that the current FIFA leadership believes that the “task force’s recommendations have been implemented” is shameful. Never has the need to combat racism and racial discrimination been more evident than it is in the world we live in today. Football is the most popular sport in the world and one of the only practical means to help the people of our world heal their differences, but we cannot begin without first addressing in real terms the racial differences and discrimination that are very real, and apparent, faced by our Football Associations, Players and Fans. It is not something that any governing body with any semblance of responsibility can down play or deny.
I have long argued that tackling racism and discrimination should be a permanent part of the institution and that the Ad Hoc Committee should evolve into a permanent one with real support and resources. Though slogans and awards are laudable, the committee and its work should have the ability to go much further into the very fabric of society and to work in conjunction with the Football Associations, Governments, NGO’s and stake holders to tackle racism and discrimination in all its forms.
The reality as with many programs within FIFA is that the task force was never given real support since its conception and its role was more about FIFAs image than actually tackling the issues. In fact the present task force committee has never even met! Now the idea that FIFA believes that it’s the right time to disband its anti-racism task force is ridiculous. There is still so much work to do, and FIFA must show leadership, take responsibility for reform and be accountable if change isn’t put into practice.
Transparency, trust, credibility and integrity are the values that should run through everything FIFA does – Not tackling the plague of racism and discrimination properly is an absolute betrayal of those values.
The Manchester City midfielder said in a statement on his personal website: "When I received the letter telling me the Fifa task force was to be discontinued I was very disappointed.
"The letter listed the good work that had been carried out as a result of the task force's advice and recommendations. So my question is, after failing to deal with racism sufficiently for decades - why stop when something is beginning to work? Are Fifa being complacent ahead of a World Cup in Russia? This makes no sense.
"The task force brought together the expertise of campaigners, football administrators and players. It was a resource that gave Fifa the expertise they clearly did not have before.
"My only hope is that Fifa have thought this through. The letter I received does not fill me with confidence. It will be the fans and players that suffer if Fifa do not get this right."
Blake said: "It's almost turning a blind eye. It's almost justifying it [racism], saying 'we've done that and moved on' because it's never going to go away'."
He added: "To say we've got a mandate and completed that mandate is a nonsense for me."
