Soccer-Factbox-Scala's eight-point reform plan for FIFA

ZURICH, Sept 10 (Reuters) - (subbed - embargoed until 1300 GMT) Factbox on the eight-point reform plan for soccer's governing body FIFA proposed by Domenico Scala, head of the audit and compliance committee, and made public on Thursday: *Tougher integrity checks on high-ranking FIFA officials. Scala has proposed that all members of the FIFA executive committee and other holders of key positions within soccer's governing body are subjected to integrity checks which would be carried out by the ethics committee. He also wants the same checks to be carried out on officials at continental confederation and national association level; federations which do not comply would not be eligible to be represented on FIFA committees. *Term limits for top officials. Scala has proposed that the FIFA president, the members of the Executive Committee, the secretary general and members of independent committees are limited to three terms of four years each. He also wants similar limits introduced at confederation and national association level. Scala said on Thursday that he considered this to be the most important of his proposals. There are currently no such limits at FIFA and most national associations. Sepp Blatter has been FIFA president since 1998 and Issa Hayatou has been on the executive committee since 1990. Other long-serving figures include Angel Maria Villar, who has been president of the Spanish federation since 1988 and on the FIFA executive committee since 1998. *Election to the FIFA Executive Committee. Under Scala's proposals, the executive committee would be directly elected by the FIFA Congress which comprises its 209 member national associations. Currently, they are elected by their continental confederations who are not members of FIFA. Confederations, however will retain a right to propose candidates. *Earnings to be publicised. The remunerations of the FIFA president, the other members of the FIFA Executive Committee, the secretary general and the chairmen of the independent committees would be made public. All football-related income and compensations must be disclosed comprehensively. *Fewer committees with fewer members. Scala wants a "significant reduction of the number and size of the standing committees." He has also proposed that committees which have a high risk of conflicts of interest must have independent chairmen. FIFA currently has more than 30 committees, ranging from the Strategic committee to the Beach Soccer committee. *Better governance at confederation and national association level. The continental confederations and 209 national associations would have to issue "adequate" ethics and disciplinary regulations and "have to comply with high standards of governance." *Bidding rules for the World Cup hosting. Scala said there were no additional proposals to the changes which have been introduced since 2011. Under the changes, the host nation will now be chosen by the Congress from a shortlist of three candidates chosen by the executive committee. The hosts of only one World Cup tournament may be chosen at a single vote and the winning country must abide by United Nations standards on human rights and the protection of workers. Potential hosts must not fund development projects outside their own country. In 2010, Russia and Qatar were chosen to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups respectively at the same vote, made by the 22 members of the executive committee who were lobbied intensively. It was widely commented that lobbying counted more than the technical reports on the bids. FIFA's ethics committee launched a probe into the decision and Switzerland's attorney general has also started an investigation. *Improvements to FIFA's organisation and structure. The executive committee would be split into a governing body to deal with strategic matters and supervisory committee and a management board. (Reporting by Brian Homewood, editing by Alan Baldwin)