The organisation's boss gave a defiant media conference overnight but former FIFA insiders are now calling on Australia to play its part in bringing about reforms.
Britain has already indicated it will abstain from the vote to re-elect Sepp Blatter as FIFA's head this week, and the Federal Opposition is backing the call for Australian soccer authorities to also take a tougher stand.
Simon Santow has the latest.
SIMON SANTOW: Seventy-five-year-old Sepp Blatter didn't sound like a man prepared to make compromises at a FIFA presser in Zurich overnight.
SEPP BLATTER: Crisis? What is a crisis? If somebody - if you were to describe to me what there is a crisis then I would answer. Football is not in a crisis.
SIMON SANTOW: Accused of being in denial and despite the tit for tat corruption allegations of recent weeks, the FIFA boss says the game has never been healthier. And as for the politics?
SEPP BLATTER: We are not in a crisis, we are only in some difficulties and these difficulties will be solved, will be solved inside our family.
SIMON SANTOW: Former FIFA insiders don't see it all the same way.
In an interview with the BBC, Mel Brennan describes how soccer's governing body operates.
MEL BRENNAN: The meetings, the congresses themselves are manifestations of smaller, private interactions across the board. Nothing is decided at the congress, everything is decided before the congress.
So when Warner refers to - and Blazer's evidentiary file - refers to meetings that Bin Hammam and Blatter and others were having at meetings well before this upcoming congress, that's when the real work is being done and the real deals are being made.
SIMON SANTOW: The one time FIFA delegate from the United States has long argued for an overhaul of FIFA.
MEL BRENNAN: From top to bottom, in this framework, interactions and relationships are comprised of bureaucratic political politics. The only thing that'll really forge a long term difference here will be when other stakeholders, the larger, wider stakeholders in the game begin to exert pressure on sponsors and have a sustained campaign to demand something better than what we've been offered.
SIMON SANTOW: The withdrawal of Qatari Mohammed bin Hammam from the race to head up FIFA means that Sepp Blatter is unopposed in seeking another four year term.
Whether all 208 footballing nations get a vote on Wednesday will be up to FIFA.
It's conceivable the ballot will be called off to avoid the likelihood that countries unhappy with Sepp Blatter will use it as a platform to register their dissatisfaction with the pace of reform.
Another former FIFA insider Guido Tognoni told AM Australia can do more to bring about meaningful change.
GUIDO TOGNONI: I mean who is FIFA and who owns FIFA? Two-hundred-and-eight national associations are the owners of FIFA, they are stakeholders. I can only hope that maybe England gets awake, maybe Germany one day, maybe France or even the Americans. They have some reasons to complain - Australia would have a reason to complain.
SIMON SANTOW: The Football Federation of Australia didn't return calls from The World Today.
The Government too has been careful in its commentary on Sepp Blatter and FIFA.
Some say the Sports Minister, Mark Arbib is anxious not to offend in case Australia gets a second chance to host the World Cup.
Luke Hartsuyker, the shadow sports minister, says it's time the hard calls were made.
LUKE HARTSUYKER: Well the current situation at FIFA seems of grave concern and I think that Blatter's comments "crisis, what crisis?" indicated that it's sort of Sir Humphrey Appleby on steroids. Quite clearly there are huge problems there, quite clearly there needs to be massive change in FIFA if the world community is going to have the confidence to invest huge amounts of money in bids in the future.
SIMON SANTOW: FIFA talks about its own family and that only change can come from within the family. Do you agree with that argument?
LUKE HARTSUYKER: The FIFA family is clearly dysfunctional in the extreme if the events of the recent past are any indication. It certainly appears to me that change is not going to effectively come from within, it's going to take massive external pressure.
FIFA really needs to get its house in order. Quite clearly, the world community has had their faith shattered by the recent allegations and it's of concern to soccer fans right round the world.
SIMON SANTOW: And can Sepp Blatter remain in the top job there?
LUKE HARTSUYKER: Well there's certainly dark clouds over every element of the structure of FIFA at the moment.
ELEANOR HALL: That's the Federal Opposition's spokesman on sport, Luke Hartsuyker, ending Simon Santow's report.

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