FIFA as a non-state actor: Promoting gender equality and combating discrimination in international sports governance (2016-2023)

This bachelor’s thesis examines the role of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) as a non-state actor in promoting gender equality and combating discrimination between 2016 and 2023. The main aim of the thesis is to determine to what extent FIFA’s publicly declared commitments to equality correspond to actual changes in the organization’s internal structures, financial practices, and communication campaigns used by FIFA in its public communication. Furthermore, the thesis explores how the issues of gender equality and anti-discrimination are reflected in the speeches of the organization’s top representatives. The theoretical part is primarily grounded in liberal feminism, which emphasizes equal rights, women’s representation, and the removal of institutional barriers. At the same time, the thesis applies the concept of non-state actors and international sports organizations within the framework of global governance. Methodologically, the thesis is based on a qualitative case study of FIFA. It employs qualitative content analysis of annual reports, statutes, campaigns, and strategic documents, complemented by critical discourse analysis of selected speeches by President Gianni Infantino and Secretary General Fatma Samoura. The findings show that FIFA achieved a certain degree of progress during the examined period, particularly in the area of women’s representation in leadership structures, investment in women’s football, and the visibility of equality-related themes in external communication. At the same time, however, significant disparities remain in the distribution of resources, decision-making power, and consistency between public rhetoric and actual institutional change. The thesis concludes that FIFA is undoubtedly an important actor in global governance; however, its commitments to equality cannot be understood as a completed process of transformation, but rather as an ongoing and unfinished process of change.