Football supporters around the world believe there must be a better candidate out there somewhere for the FIFA presidency.
Ahead of Friday's extraordinary FIFA Congress to elect a new president, Forza Football has teamed up with the world's leading anti-corruption agency, Transparency International, to find out if football fans have faith in the sport's world governing body.
A number of issues were highlighted in Transparency International's 'Global Corruption Report: Sport', ranging from how much confidence supporters have in FIFA to which candidates are suitable to step into the role previously held by Sepp Blatter.
Below are some of the results from the poll which received input from over 25,000 people from 28 countries:
1. Do you have confidence in FIFA?
Yes - 19%
No - 69%
Don't know - 12%
Nation-by-nation, Chile had the least confidence in FIFA (88% saying no), while Argentina and Ireland (both 80%), and Netherlands (78%) also had very low confidence.
Britain (76%) and USA (66%), also had low confidence in FIFA.
2. Do you believe FIFA will ever restore its reputation?
Yes - 50%
No - 25%
Don't know - 25%
That more fans believe FIFA will restore its reputation than don't, signifies a glimmer of hope for the organisation.
Fans from Russia (77%), Thailand (72%) and Saudi Arabia (64%) were most optimistic.
41% of Britons and 50% of Americans believe that FIFA can turn itself around and restore its reputation.
3. Should football fans be allowed to vote in the FIFA presidential election?
Yes - 69%
No - 24%
Don't know - 7%
Fans from UK (77%), Austria (77%), and Belgium (78%) were most in favour of fans being allowed to vote in the FIFA presidential election. 73% of fans in America agree.
4. Has the FIFA scandal affected how much you enjoy football
Yes - 43%
No - 52%
Don't know - 5%
Fans from Chile (61%), Portugal (56%) and Argentina (56%) were most affected by the scandal. 45% of fans in Britain, and 44% in America, stated that the FIFA scandal had affected how much they enjoy football.
5. Who would you pick to run FIFA?
HRH Prince Ali Al Hussein – 9%
Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa - 4%
Jérôme Champagne - 6%
Gianni Infantino - 19%
Tokyo Sexwale - 3%
None of the above - 60%
The majority of respondents from every nation, except for Saudi Arabia, chose 'none of the above'. 37% of fans from Saudi Arabia favoured Prince Ali Al Hussein. However, only slightly less chose 'none of the above' (30%).
Second to 'none of the above', Prince Ali Al Hussein is the candidate of choice for UK, USA, Saudi Arabia, Ireland, Netherlands, Australia, Argentina, Chile, and Thailand.
Second to 'none of the above', Gianni Infantino is the candidate of choice for Sweden, Italy, Portugal, Denmark, Germany, Spain, France, Colombia, Belgium, Canada, Switzerland, Austria, Russia, and Costa Rica.
In South Africa, Tokyo Sexwale's home nation, 'none of the above' was, by some distance (43%), the respondents' favoured response, with Sexwale garnering 28% of the vote.
6. Do you think football is more corrupt than other sports?
Yes - 57%
No - 31%
Don't know - 11%
79% of fans in Argentina, 73% in Portugal, and 69% in Chile stated that football is more corrupt than other sports.
60% of fans in Britain, and 56% of fans in America, stated that football is more corrupt than other sports.
7. Women make up less than 1% of the voting population in the FIFA Congress. Do you think the number of women in FIFA should be increased?
Yes - 64%
No – 21%
Don't know - 15%
The top three countries for wanting women in FIFA are Costa Rica (83%), Colombia (78%), and Spain (76%).
However, over half (52%) of fans in Russia said that they didn't want more women in FIFA.
69% of Britons, and 72% of Americans, stated that there should be more women in FIFA.
Patrik Arnesson, the 29-year-old co-founder of Gothenburg-based Forza Football, comments: "While it's crucial that the FIFA scandal has been, and continues to be, widely discussed, the opinions and feelings of the most important people in football, the fans, are often ignored. By teaming up with Transparency International we are giving football fans from all over the world a collective voice, and putting the power back into their hands. We hope that the next FIFA President will take into account how disillusioned football fans are with the sport they love."
Courtesy of Forza Football (flagship app of Football Addicts)
