“In my view, this is a constructive approach unlike the one taken by the LFF, which for a long time maintained that everything was fine, that ‘do not get involved and we will live merrily’. If a working group proposed by FIFA would solve long-standing problems of the LFF, then it would be meaningful,” Majauskas told the news agency ELTA.
The politician is concerned that the LFF may provide inaccurate information to UEFA and FIFA. Therefore, he highlighted the need to inform football authorities about the true situation at Lithuania’s Football Federation.
“It is important for them to know the actual situation. A direct meeting is needed for that. Respecting [LFF’s] independence we hope to discuss this with representatives of international federations,” said Majauskas.
According to the MP, since the very beginning politicians argued that the LFF has to meet not only the minimum criteria set by football authorities, but should also follow the publicly available exemplary statutes of FIFA. The MP notes that the statutes require to guarantee that football clubs directly participate in the governance of federations, that there has to be an independent ethics commission, while the governing bodies must be elected transparently and democratically.
As reported, on 27 July, the Seimas Committee on Budget and Finance and the Commission for Youth and Sports Affairs held a joint sitting during which a suggestion was made to introduce direct management over the Lithuanian Football Federation (LFF) due to lacking transparency of how it is run and how funding is spent.
Afterwards, the LFF addressed FIFA and UEFA for confirmation that its statutes are in line with their standards. On 3 August, FIFA and UEFA sent a letter to LFF President Tomas Danilevičius confirming that in general the LFF statutes amended on 30 April 2022 comply with the requirements stipulated in the FIFA and UEFA statutes.
The letter also stated that good governance required constant adaptation and improvements over time and the LFF was encouraged to consider additional upgrades, with the joint guidance of FIFA and UEFA, to further strengthen its governance framework. Therefore, it was suggested to create a working group consisting of LFF representatives and FIFA and UEFA experts to discuss possible reforms to the statute. The two organisations also noted that the LFF’s statutory obligation is to run its affairs independently and with no undue influence from third parties.
