Fifa

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 2:34 pm on 1 June 2015.

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Photo of John Whittingdale John Whittingdale The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 2:34, 1 June 2015

The chairman of the English FA has been very clear on this matter: a boycott by England would be self-defeating. If we are to put pressure on FIFA to change, such a tactic would be effective only if we could get the support of a significant number of other countries. So the first priority is to assess how much support there would be for such moves. If it could be demonstrated that there was significant support, that alone might be sufficient to force change. Obviously, that kind of incentive is effective only if it is believed that it will be used unless change takes place.