‘If You Broke off Communications — Consider That You Have Lost’
HSE held an international conference on 'Crisis Communications in Sports Management Bodies: Active Versus Reactive Strategies' FIFA top managers spoke about how one of the largest international organisations manages its relations with the media, with politicians and public opinion.
The conference was organised by the HSE, the International Centre for Sports Research (CIES) FIFA with the Federation of Sports Managers, Russia, for students of the HSE and CIES/FIFA joint Master’s Programme in Sports Management.
The main speakers at the conference were Walter De Grigorio, Director of Communications and Public Affairs FIFA and Peter Hargitay, special communications advisor to the president of FIFA.
Mr Hargitay said that in the last 15 years FIFA has had to deal with three crisis situations which could have seriously damaged the football organisation. The first was connected with bankruptcy in the early 2000s of the major marketing company ISL which owned exclusive rights to selling World Cup TV broadcasts.
The next was the wave of criticism that engulfed FIFA after the elections for hosting the World Cup in 2018 (Russia) and 2022 (Qatar). For the first time the voting for two championships was run simultaneously. ‘FIFA president Sepp Blatter admitted afterwards that it had been a bad idea,’ said Peter Hargitay. The selection of Russia and Qatar gave rise to doubts about the objectivity of the voting members of FIFA’s executive committee, there were even accusations of bribery (none of which were proved).
The British press went to particular trouble, becoming FIFA’s main castigator. There was politics involved. Such a big and influential organisation like FIFA is regarded by many countries as an instrument of political pressure on opponents (remember the calls to ‘take back’ the 2018 World Cup from Russia or boycott it).
Invite your fiercest critics to the negotiating table. Eight out of ten will listen to you, you can build relations with them and they’ll stop seeing you as the devil incarnate.
But probably the worst blow to FIFA’s reputation came from the Head of the Asian Football Confederation Mohammed bin Hammam. In 2011 he put himself forward as presidential candidate but was charged with attempted bribery and then with conflict of interests and was banned from any football related activities for life.
Under those circumstances FIFA was obliged not only to rebuild its reputation but to change its image too. An active PR campaign aimed to separate the perception of FIFA from that of individual FIFA directors: hundreds of honest professionals work in the organisation, thanks to whom world football continues to develop. It was important to remove people with dubious reputations from the executive branch of FIFA. An independent ethics committee was set up and the American former prosecutor Michael Garcia, a person with no connection at all to the football establishment, investigated the allegations of corruption.
FIFA began to work differently with the media. Newspapers always love conflicts or a scandal - they sell better. But you have to respond appropriately to criticism. ‘Criticism from your opponents can be useful if it is constructive,’ says Walter De Grigorio. ‘Any interaction needs to be based on trust, it is very important to always work with facts, it’s the only way to influence the public’s negative perceptions.’
‘Invite your fiercest critics to the negotiating table,’ advises Peter Hargitay. ‘Eight out of ten of them will listen to you, you will be able to build relations with them and they will stop seeing you as the devil incarnate.’ By the way in 2003, Sepp Blatter followed this advice: he invited the journalists who were most critical of him to an informal meeting and offered to answer any questions they wanted to ask.
But, when you chose the line of interaction you must understand that it is a strategic decision. You need to always be ready to talk, you mustn’t suddenly stop talking to your opponents or to the press or attitudes to your organisation will deteriorate straight away. ‘Communications must go on all the time,’ emphasised Peter Hargitay. ‘If you’ve taken a break in interaction, consider you have lost.’
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Peter Hargitay
Special Communications Advisor to the President of FIFA