FIFA congress: World football body passes landmark reforms on salary disclosure, human rights, women's football

Extraordinary FIFA Congress 2016 is being held at the Hallenstadion in Zurich, Switzerland.

New Delhi: In a bid to salvage their image, the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) on Friday passed "a package of landmark reforms that pave the way for significant improvements to the governance of global football".

In a detailed statement released today, the world football governing today said that "The reforms were based on proposals made by the 2016 FIFA Reform Committee and the subsequent recommendations put before the Congress by the Executive Committee in the form of draft FIFA Statutes."

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The reforms include a wide-ranging area of concerns, like the disclosure of salaries, limiting a president's tenure to four-year, promoting women in football and commitment to enshrining human rights in the FIFA Statutes.

"The reforms were supported by 179 of the 207 member associations present and eligible to vote at the Extraordinary Congress in Zurich. The Congress will also elect a new FIFA President," the statement read.

“We stand united in our determination to put things right, so that the focus can return to football once again.

"The hard work of restoring trust and improving how we work begins now,"Acting FIFA President Issa Hayatou added.

A new council will replace the current executive committee, featuring a female representative from each confederation.

Later today, FIFA will elect a new president to replace Sepp Blatter, who was suspended last year.

Five candidates who are in contention for the top job are Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa, Gianni Infantino, Prince Ali bin al-Hussein, Tokyo Sexwale and Jerome Champagne.

Earlier, FIFA shared the agenda for the congress.

"This is a landmark occasion in the history of FIFA, and it comes at a crucial time as we focus on the hard work of restoring credibility and stability after a diffi cult and challenging period.

"At this Congress, our member associations will vote for a new FIFA President, opening a new era for FIFA and for the future of football around the world,"it read.