Yes, Blatter has been beset by allegations from Lord Triesman, the former head of the England 2018 World Cup bid, that members of his Executive Committee sought bribes in exchange for votes in the World Cup bidding process, but he has something much more crucial to worry about.
The Presidential election, taking place on June 1. Blatter is up against Mohammed bin Hammam, the Qatari challenger to his 13 year reign at the head of world football’s governing body.
So how could this have been anything other than a disastrous week for Blatter? Well, for one, UEFA has confirmed that it will support him in the election. UEFA’s 53 votes will be crucial for his re-election hopes. Secondly, Oceania has followed suit and thrown its backing behind the incumbent. And third, his rival bin Hammam has been tarnished by revelations from the Sunday Times that the Qatari bid, which he headed, paid $1.5 million each to two FIFA Executive Committee members, Jacques Anouma and Issa Hayatou.
Hayatou’s involvement in this scandal is quite ironic. It was he who fought against Blatter on a clean up FIFA ticket in 2002. But the Swiss is seeing his re-election hopes strengthen with each passing week. Bin Hammam is struggling to make any real inroads into the electorate, comprising some 208 members.
With South America having already pledged to support Blatter, the incumbent has approximately 74 votes sown up. Asia is certain to fall in line and support its head, bin Hammam, meaning that Africa and North & Central America will be the main battlegrounds for this election race.
What is difficult to understand to football fans who don’t pay attention to the machinations of FIFA politics, is how popular Blatter is around the world. Funding to member associations has given him a powerful position at the head of the world game, with countries around the world naming streets and buildings in his honour.
And the goal project, FIFA’s initiative since Blatter’s election in 1998, provides considerable funds to developing nations. It is this which shores up Blatter’s support.
Except bin Hammam runs the goal project. This gives him an additional bargaining chip when it comes to courting votes. And the Jack Warner run North & Central America bloc of votes will be most important. This bloc is likely to vote uniformly, and though Warner has always voted for Blatter and supported him in the past, it is not inconceivable that he could switch and back the Qatari challenger. The allegations, numerous as they are against Warner, make one wonder just how loyal he is to Blatter, particularly when there is a Qatari challenger who, incidentally, happens to have plenty of cash to give to particular regions or associations if he so wishes.
Indeed, the Qatari’s funding was a large help in Blatter’s initial surprise election in 1998, when he upset the favourite Lennart Johannsson. What price a repeat surprise in his own favour this time?
Strange as it may seem, FIFA’s credibility is at stake and to save it a victory for Blatter might be the best thing for the world game. Blatter has promised to open up the voting for World Cups to all member associations, whilst Bin Hammam wants to strengthen the power of confederation heads such as Warner and Paraguayan Nicolas Leoz. Bin Hammam represents the entrenchment of power in a few individuals, whilst Blatter is now bizarrely the more ‘democratic’ candidate. Furthermore, Blatter has already announced that he will stand down in 2015, at the end of his last term. It is largely assumed that UEFA President Michel Platini will run for the Presidency, and that Blatter will support his election bid at this point. Platini, unlike a lot of administrators in world football, has actually played the game. And more importantly perhaps, he is a genuinely honest and clean candidate. Platini’s pioneering vision has helped open up the Champions League to smaller countries, as well as the European Championships. Amid the allegations which were thrown at a third of FIFA’s Executive Committee in Parliament this week, Platini was mentioned by insiders as one of the select few who was ‘incorruptible.’ If four more years of Blatter are the means by which we can hasten the Frenchman’s accession to the FIFA throne, then that is a price well worth paying.
