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Friday 26 February 2016 11:27 am

Fifa election 2016: Everything you need to know about the reforms Fifa just voted for

By: Joe Hall

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Delegates from Fifa's 209 member associations have voted to enact a package of reforms the governing body hopes can help it regain the trust of football fans around the world.

At the Extraordinary Fifa Congress the suited and booted gathering of football administrators were first asked to give the green light to a raft of changes to Fifa's structure and values before they will later elect a new president.

Of the 201 associations who voted, 179 backed the reforms while 22 apparently saw no issue with the way Fifa was currently run.

The reforms include a separation of Fifa's football and commercial arms to prevent the latter operating undue influence over the former, fixed term limits on the president and executives and a commitment to disclosing their pay every year.

Acting Fifa president Issa Hayatou has called on member associations to "fully embrace" the reforms he believes will "demonstrate to the world that we have listened and learned". 

Read more: Meet the candidates to replace Sepp Blatter as Fifa boss

For the reforms to be passed an absolute majority of the 207 member associations eligible to vote – Kuwait and Indonesia are currently suspended – must vote for them to be enacted. If that's achieved, the new Fifa will come into place 60 days later on Tuesday 26 April.

Unlike Blatter, who ruled Fifa for the best part of two decades, the new Fifa president will then be limited to three terms of four years as will members of a new Fifa Council that will replace the existing executive committee.

The Fifa council will host 36 seats, as opposed to the 24 in the existing executive committee and members will be subject to integrity checks by an independent review panel.

Fifa is also pledging to increase the role of women its decision-making processes, to set up a stakeholder committee to represent players, clubs and leagues and an independent Audit and Compliance committee to oversee the whole operation.

Perhaps most significantly, however, will be the insistence that all of Fifa's member associations adopt the same practices including independent audits – a measure the governing body hopes will address the unaccounted for disappearance and misappropriation of Fifa funds by individual associations.

Read more: Why Fifa's forthcoming election only offers more of the same

However, the reforms have not been universally accepted as positive and have been criticised by both players and clubs.

The European Club Association (ECA), which represents Europe's elite teams, has expressed anger it had no representatives on the reform committee and claimed "the proposed recommendations will only lead to increased frustration among stakeholders".

Furthermore, world players' union Fifpro has said the reforms will keep power firmly in the hands of football associations and confederations.

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