U.S. Senate to hold hearing into FIFA governance

(Reuters) - The U.S. Senate will hold a hearing into FIFA and international football governance – and the United States' role within it, Republican Senator Jerry Moran said on Thursday. Moran is Chairman of the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and will hold a hearing entitled ‘Examining the Governance and Integrity of International Soccer' on July 15. The CEO and Secretary General of the United States Soccer Federation, Dan Flynn, will be a witness at the hearing along with journalist Andrew Jennings, who has written extensively on FIFA and corruption. “The hearing will examine the integrity and impending leadership changes at FIFA, the role of the United States in international football, and concerns about the labour conditions of workers in Qatar, the host of the 2022 World Cup,” according to a statement issued by the sub-committee. Moran said the hearing will look at human rights issues in Qatar as well as the role of the United States within FIFA. “The recent revelations of bribery and mismanagement at FIFA should be of concern to us all,” said Moran. “The organisation’s culture of corruption is turning a blind eye to significant human rights violations and the tragic loss of lives. This hearing on the recent FIFA scandals will begin the discussion about our country’s own participation in the organisation, ways the United States and our allies can work to reform FIFA, and how we can restore integrity to the game so many Americans and citizens of the world enjoy.” Michael Hershman, a governance expert with investigative firm Fairfax Group and a member of the advisory board of the Doha-based International Centre for Sport Security, will also testify at the hearing, as will Sunjeev Bery, Amnesty International’s Advocacy Director for the Middle East and North Africa. (Reporting By Simon Evans; Editing by Christian Plumb)