• by Erik Sass , Staff Writer @eriksass1, January 28, 2016

Sometimes when an organization mounts a public relations effort, you’re just like, “why bother?” For example, it seems obvious that launching a new custom magazine in the midst of a major, unfolding scandal would be futile at best and quite possibly counterproductive.

It calls additional, almost certainly unwanted attention to your brand. You don’t see Volkswagen launching a new magazine, for example.

But apparently FIFA, like the honey badger, just don’t care.

The international soccer league – notorious as one of the most corrupt sporting organizations to ever exist, its logo often appearing next to the word “corruption” in the dictionary – is launching a new monthly magazine to replace its weekly newsletter.

The new FIFA magazine, called FIFA 1904 in reference to the year it was founded, is set to launch January 29 and will cover news and stories about soccer (or to most people, football) around the globe. It includes FIFA’s efforts to increase the game’s popularity through development projects, competitions and events.

The monthly pub will be 68 pages long, compared to the weekly newsletter’s 40, and will have digital editions available for tablets and smartphones, publishing in English, French, German and Spanish. The newsletter, FIFA Weekly, first began publication two years ago.

The rest of the governing body continues to battle legal probes as internal and external audits uncover evidence of rampant bribery, self-dealing and vote buying. That's related to the choice of host countries for the World Cup and the sale of media rights, among other things.

Remarkably, after over a dozen top FIFA officials were arrested in Zurich in December on charges of racketeering, money laundering and fraud, the organization’s president Sepp Blatter still refused to step down. He is currently suspended.

Swiss authorities are pursuing a criminal investigation against Blatter for alleged criminal mismanagement and misappropriation of funds in the sale of a World Cup TV rights.

But hey – look at this new magazine!