FIFA secretary general Fatma Samoura said the organisation is working
closely with Russia to formulate tough anti-discrimination regulations
for the 2018 World Cup after it emerged that it was disbanding its anti-racism task force.
FIFA wrote to members of the task force to say that it has
"completely fulfilled its temporary mission" and "is hereby dissolved
and no longer in operation."
"I have been to Russia twice since I came into office," Samoura said.
"We are working with the authorities there to make sure strong measures
are in place to combat racism and all forms of discrimination. They
have been very receptive and are committed to this."
On the decision to end the work of the task force, Samoura added: "It
had a very specific mandate. They made some very good recommendations
and FIFA has now turned them into a programme and is implementing them.
We remain committed to fighting all forms of discrimination and it
remains top of our agenda."
Samoura maintained that the controversial decision to end the task
force was in no way an indication that world football's governing body
believed that the problem of discrimination within the game had been
solved.
"FIFA maintains a zero tolerance towards discrimination at all levels
of the game," she added. "Both Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022 will be World
Cups where intolerance and bigotry will not be tolerated."
Samoura has met the media and corporate companies to convince them
that FIFA is combating corruption and is now a more transparent
organisation.
Samoura was speaking as she presented FIFA's first ever Diversity Award at the Soccerex Global Convention in Manchester.
The award was won by Slum Soccer, an Indian based organisation that
uses football to carry out social engagement projects with children
living in slums.