* Blatter looks forward to new four-year term
* Pledges “radical decisions and necessary reforms”
* England motion to delay vote suffers big defeat
By Mike Collett
ZURICH, June 1 (Reuters) - Sepp Blatter cleared the final obstacle to a new term as FIFA president and immediately pledged “radical reform” of a world governing body ravaged by corruption claims and facing a fresh call to review Qatar’s winning 2022 World Cup bid.
Blatter, the 75-year-old Swiss who has run FIFA since 1998, can expect to be re-elected for a final four-year term on Wednesday after soccer federations opted to go ahead with the vote despite the lack of a rival candidate.
“Reforms will be made, not just touch-ups but radical decisions and necessary reforms,” Blatter said. “We must do something because I do not want ever again the institution of FIFA to face this again, which I must say is undignified.”
England’s motion for a delay to give any new candidate a chance to stand was defeated overwhelmingly, with only 17 delegates voting in favour and 172 against.
Blatter’s problems are far from over with the president under pressure from Germany, one of soccer’s most powerful national associations, to investigate the process that saw Qatar awarded the 2022 World Cup.
“There is a considerable degree of suspicion that one cannot simply sweep aside,” German FA chief Theo Zwanziger told German television.
Blatter traced FIFA’s problems back to last year’s vote, when the inner circle of executive committee members chose Russia to host the World Cup in 2018 and Qatar in 2022.
WATERSHED MOMENT
He promised on Wednesday to shift power to award future World Cup hosting rights to FIFA’s full 208-member congress, though the 2026 World Cup will not be up for grabs for another six or seven years.
“Where does all this evil come from which is now in FIFA,” he asked before answering his own question.
“It has to do with the popularity of our competition, the flagship competition, the World Cup. The attribution of the World Cup… kicked off a wave of accusations, proposals, allegations, criticism and they are still coming.”
FIFA is facing what its own general secretary called a “watershed moment”, with the current crisis being widely compared to the Salt Lake City corruption case the International Olympic Committee had to deal with in 1998.
The IOC’s response was to introduce strict limits on members visiting bid cities and Blatter will need to provide more detail of his plans to satisfy critics he is serious about reform.
Blatter has run soccer’s world governing body since 1998 and led it through a period of unprecedented prosperity on the sale of TV rights and sponsorship.
But the game’s reputation has been put under the microscope after a spate of corruption allegations, the suspension of two senior FIFA officials and suggestions Qatar bought the World Cup, which the Gulf state has denied.
Blatter is standing unopposed in the elected after Asian soccer chief Mohamed bin Hammam dropped out of the race.
The Qatari Bin Hammam was subsequently suspended pending an investigation into claims that he bribed some Caribbean delegates and he was not allowed to attend the Congress.
Bin Hammam and FIFA vice-president Jack Warner, who was also suspended, have denied any wrongdoing.
INTERNAL CHAOS
In another twist to a crisis that continues to make front-page headlines, Chuck Blazer—an American whose whistle-blowing led to the suspension of Bin Hammam and Trinidadian Warner—was sacked on Tuesday from his position on the regional soccer body CONCACAF.
An hour later, that organisation, which runs soccer in North and Central America and the Caribbean, declared the dismissal invalid.
The internal chaos magnified the drama surrounding the FIFA Congress in Zurich.
Swiss President Micheline Calmy-Rey called for swift FIFA reform, telling delegates FIFA needed to “take seriously” the criticisms voiced about corruption.
“It is important you examine them swiftly and take the necessary measures to reform your governance. It is of the utmost importance because your organisation should be an example not only to young people but to the world at large.
“What is important is to restore full confidence in the organisation; let not money spoil your ideals,” she added.
FIFA has also faced criticism from four of its six top-tier sponsors while England’s FA defended its decision to try to get the election postponed.
“While we did not succeed in deferring the FIFA presidential election, it was positive to be joined by 16 other nations in supporting our democratic request for the vote to be delayed,” said chairman David Bernstein in a statement.
“We are confident the FA has played a significant role as a catalyst for change in the way World Cup hosts will be selected in the future.”
* Pledges “radical decisions and necessary reforms”
* England motion to delay vote suffers big defeat
By Mike Collett
ZURICH, June 1 (Reuters) - Sepp Blatter cleared the final obstacle to a new term as FIFA president and immediately pledged “radical reform” of a world governing body ravaged by corruption claims and facing a fresh call to review Qatar’s winning 2022 World Cup bid.
Blatter, the 75-year-old Swiss who has run FIFA since 1998, can expect to be re-elected for a final four-year term on Wednesday after soccer federations opted to go ahead with the vote despite the lack of a rival candidate.
“Reforms will be made, not just touch-ups but radical decisions and necessary reforms,” Blatter said. “We must do something because I do not want ever again the institution of FIFA to face this again, which I must say is undignified.”
England’s motion for a delay to give any new candidate a chance to stand was defeated overwhelmingly, with only 17 delegates voting in favour and 172 against.
Blatter’s problems are far from over with the president under pressure from Germany, one of soccer’s most powerful national associations, to investigate the process that saw Qatar awarded the 2022 World Cup.
“There is a considerable degree of suspicion that one cannot simply sweep aside,” German FA chief Theo Zwanziger told German television.
Blatter traced FIFA’s problems back to last year’s vote, when the inner circle of executive committee members chose Russia to host the World Cup in 2018 and Qatar in 2022.
WATERSHED MOMENT
He promised on Wednesday to shift power to award future World Cup hosting rights to FIFA’s full 208-member congress, though the 2026 World Cup will not be up for grabs for another six or seven years.
“Where does all this evil come from which is now in FIFA,” he asked before answering his own question.
“It has to do with the popularity of our competition, the flagship competition, the World Cup. The attribution of the World Cup… kicked off a wave of accusations, proposals, allegations, criticism and they are still coming.”
FIFA is facing what its own general secretary called a “watershed moment”, with the current crisis being widely compared to the Salt Lake City corruption case the International Olympic Committee had to deal with in 1998.
The IOC’s response was to introduce strict limits on members visiting bid cities and Blatter will need to provide more detail of his plans to satisfy critics he is serious about reform.
Blatter has run soccer’s world governing body since 1998 and led it through a period of unprecedented prosperity on the sale of TV rights and sponsorship.
But the game’s reputation has been put under the microscope after a spate of corruption allegations, the suspension of two senior FIFA officials and suggestions Qatar bought the World Cup, which the Gulf state has denied.
Blatter is standing unopposed in the elected after Asian soccer chief Mohamed bin Hammam dropped out of the race.
The Qatari Bin Hammam was subsequently suspended pending an investigation into claims that he bribed some Caribbean delegates and he was not allowed to attend the Congress.
Bin Hammam and FIFA vice-president Jack Warner, who was also suspended, have denied any wrongdoing.
INTERNAL CHAOS
In another twist to a crisis that continues to make front-page headlines, Chuck Blazer—an American whose whistle-blowing led to the suspension of Bin Hammam and Trinidadian Warner—was sacked on Tuesday from his position on the regional soccer body CONCACAF.
An hour later, that organisation, which runs soccer in North and Central America and the Caribbean, declared the dismissal invalid.
The internal chaos magnified the drama surrounding the FIFA Congress in Zurich.
Swiss President Micheline Calmy-Rey called for swift FIFA reform, telling delegates FIFA needed to “take seriously” the criticisms voiced about corruption.
“It is important you examine them swiftly and take the necessary measures to reform your governance. It is of the utmost importance because your organisation should be an example not only to young people but to the world at large.
“What is important is to restore full confidence in the organisation; let not money spoil your ideals,” she added.
FIFA has also faced criticism from four of its six top-tier sponsors while England’s FA defended its decision to try to get the election postponed.
“While we did not succeed in deferring the FIFA presidential election, it was positive to be joined by 16 other nations in supporting our democratic request for the vote to be delayed,” said chairman David Bernstein in a statement.
“We are confident the FA has played a significant role as a catalyst for change in the way World Cup hosts will be selected in the future.”
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