FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafström welcomed a delegation from the Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media (CULT) of the Parliamentary Assembly Council of Europe (PACE) to the Home of FIFA in Zurich, Switzerland, to discuss the upcoming Committee reports on sport and continued cooperation between the two organisations, specifically through the promotion of human rights, anti-discrimination, gender equality and child protection.

Established in 1949, the Council of Europe is the continent’s oldest intergovernmental organisation and plays a crucial role in defending and promoting the rule of law and human rights across its 46 member states. In 2018, the two organisations signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), and have since partnered up on a range of important topics, such as child safeguarding, the fight against match manipulation and safety and security at football matches.

“We at FIFA truly believe in the universal power of football. It reaches across borders, languages, and cultures,” Mr Grafström said. “But only by working together with international and regional organisations like the CoE can we achieve lasting, transformative change.” The PACE CULT Committee delegation was headed by the Chair of the Committee, Linda Hofstad Helleland (Member of the Norwegian Parliament), PACE Vice-President Mogens Jensen and Kim Valentin, both Members of the Danish Parliament, as well as Roland Rino Büchel, Member of the Swiss Parliament.

A range of presentations were made by FIFA experts on human rights and major sporting events, gender equality and anti-discrimination, and safeguarding, while the productive and open discussion also broached the bidding process for the FIFA World Cup™. Both parties emphasised the need to continue and reinforce their collaboration within the scope of their MoU and to maintain direct dialogue. “We come not to pass judgment, but to support and encourage greater alignment between international sport governance and the values enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights,” said Ms Helleland. “We commend FIFA for its progress on embedding human rights and gender equality into its structures, while recognising that much work remains to prevent abuse, ensure child protection, advance gender equality, and strengthen accountability in sport worldwide.”