If I was President of FIFA...

Barely a day goes by without somebody asking me "Nessy, what would you do if you were somehow elected President of FIFA?"

My usual answer is "About six years, with a good lawyer."

But seriously, folks...

For me, the Presidency of FIFA is becoming a poisoned chalice, anyone announcing interest in the post becomes the subject of intense attention from the media and the FBI. I'd scrap the whole system.

The post of President of FIFA should be a ceremonial position. He or she could become a figurehead for the game, in the same way that the Queen of England is the figurehead for the Commonwealth. Turn up, shake hands, cut ribbons, smile. An ambassador of the game. The sort of thing Pele has been doing for the last twenty years when he wasn't advertising erectile dysfunction.

The power now vested in the Presidency of FIFA is ludicrous, and the temptation, opportunity and expectation of corruption that goes with the job has made it one of the world's highest profile first class seats on a gravy train of astonishing profitability. For a very long time, the vast financial resources at the disposal of the "non-profit" organisation that is FIFA, have been treated as the private kitty of the President, to distribute at will as and where he chose. No wonder he has always had vocal supporters, he could be very generous with other people's money.

The circus should stop. If there is no popular outcry for the abolition of FIFA itself (which amazes me, frankly) then the reforms needed have to take on the entire structure, beginning with the role of President.

The President of FIFA should be someone associated with the game in the public eye. It's 2015, and by coincidence, it's twenty years since the criteria for winning the Ballon D'Or was extended to non-European players. George Weah was the first African winner in 1995. Why not give the Presidency to Ballon D'Or alumni as a matter of course, appointed annually, and expected to be the face of the game for twelve months, but crucially not in charge of the distribution of any funds. Obviously, Ballon D'Or winners are too exclusive a group, it has to be open to women in the game as well, but let's find some way to make the Presidency a reward for services to football, and a way to celebrate the game's greats. The President should be someone known as a footballer, whether that's a high-profile amateur or a Golden Boot winner.

FIFA is a corporation, and should be run by a professional board that is answerable to a forum made up from the national associations and, vitally, the clubs. Football, after all, is a club game. The World Cup may be its highest profile tournament, but it is in the club game that it finds its true expression, where the greatest coaches make their names, and the greatest players do most of their best work. The clubs need a greater say in the running of the game. (And the fans need a greater say in the running of the clubs.) It is the clubs that do most of the grass-roots work, identifying and coaching young players, working with local communities to promote football, developing new coaches and providing facilities for people to learn and play. In exchange for control of FIFA, the clubs need to offer a firm commitment to putting a fixed percentage of their income into all of these areas.

Funds given out by FIFA should be distributed exclusively according to clearly set criteria. An association's grass roots programme should be fully costed and evaluated before funding, and reviewed regularly for execution and progress. If that association wants to apply for more at a later date, they should be able to account for every penny spent.

The World Cup should be organised and run as a seperate entity from FIFA itself.

International Football should be confined to late January/early February and August. There should be no competitive football played in July, or in the first two weeks of January.

Qualifying for the World Cup should, where possible, take place through mini-tournaments. These would be staged in neutral countries.

This would:

• Give more countries the opportunity to host meaningful international tournaments, 
• Reduce the number of games required as there would be no need to play home and away, 
• Provide an opportunity for teams to train and play together over a sustained period rather than the ad-hoc basis of the current system, 
• Create more of a spectacle, 
• Remove the irritating stop-start breaks to the club football season, and 
• Give some much-needed impetus to the currently over-long qualification process.

There should be a secondary World Cup style competition, with nations able to choose which to enter. This would provide tournament experience to developing football nations, as well as reducing the number of dead-rubber matches in qualification currently. This could be called the Silver Cup.

There should be a rotation of continents, with Europe, South America and the Rest of the World each hosting one in three tournaments. This reflects the importance of these two continents in the history of the game, and the presence of the greatest football supporters concentrated in these areas.

Nations that wish to host the World Cup should have at the very least qualified for it in the recent past.  They should have a professional top flight division with promotion and relegation to a lower tier.

As far as the club game goes, I would want to see fan ownership become the norm, and fan representation on club boards as a prerequisite for participation in Confederation-Level tournaments (Champions League, etc)