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"The board is very big, too big," said Sylvia Schenk, chair of Transparency International Germany's sports working group and former FIFA adviser. "It's something regardless of whether they have privileges or not."
A majority of officials attending meetings – the next is scheduled in Rwanda in October – rarely speak, said several council members. Some have never spoken at a meeting.
Still, they appreciate the benefits all the same. When they do not participate in World Cup matches, Council members have access to the exclusive FIFA Club, a private area of the Lotte whose entry is carefully controlled.
The members of the FIFA Council are not required to participate in the World Cup, or remain for its duration. They have not had a meeting since the one that took place a few days before the opening match on June 14th. Some stayed because they just love the sport. Others are there to cement relationships that could be politically useful. And a few, maybe as many people have offered the choice, see as a chance to enjoy a VIP vacation, for which FIFA also provides a per diem (in the past it was $ 500 , and $ 250 for a companion).
It can sometimes be difficult to spend money. For FIFA officials, most aspects of World Cup life are on the agenda, including clothing: a specialized tailor has been brought to Russia and will provide each official with a tailor-made suit with FIFA embroidered in gold wire. left chest
Yet times change. A car and a driver are no longer provided to officials, as they were in Brazil four years ago. There, the line was drawn when some officials asked for police escorts to go shopping.
In Russia, cars are provided by a pool, and often the officials, except the most important ones, have to come back on their own. some complained privately, according to interviews with their colleagues.
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