FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura led a FIFA Governance Workshop attended by the OFC Executive Committee.

The objective of the workshop, a first for the region, was the exchange of best practices, and to assist with the understanding of the reform process which FIFA has been undergoing since 2016.

Also in attendance were FIFA Chief Member Associations Officer Joyce Cook and FIFA Chief of Staff Mattias Grafstrom. The presenter was Nodar Akhalkatsi, FIFA Director of Executive Office Secretary General.

A number of key areas of governance were discussed over the course of the workshop with discussions concentrating more specifically on leadership principles and clarifying the differences in the roles and responsibilities of different football bodies within a Member Association, Confederation and FIFA.

Of great interest to the OFC Executive Committee due to the reform process it is currently undertaking was the separation between the political body of an organisation and its management and clearly defining the role of the General Secretariat, Congress, Executive Committee and the Confederation’s judicial bodies.

OFC Legal and Compliance Officer Barbara Lloyd was also among the presenters, giving an introduction to the recently introduced OFC Conflict of Interest Policy and how it is being implemented.

Feedback from attendees was positive with the workshop providing them with a platform for interaction with the FIFA delegation, and in particular with Ms. Samoura, to discuss the role governance should play, and how governance best practices can be successfully implemented in Oceania at both Confederation and Member Association levels.

The workshop was also an opportunity for the 11 OFC Member Associations to consolidate the efforts to continue working together the situation which resulted in the change of leadership at the governing body for football in Oceania.

“Over the last six months our confederation has implemented a massive turn-around. Football has been brought back to OFC. Our open discussions during the workshop reflect our commitment to transparency and accountability,” the OFC President Lambert Maltock said.

“We are building a bright future for Oceania, our people and our football.”