After 17 years as FIFA President, and after having been just re-elected for the fourth time to his position, Sepp Blatter has resigned as the President of FIFA. This ends what was the toughest week of Blatter’s remarkable career as a football administrator.
The world of football was thrown into turmoil by the FIFA corruption scandal, exposed by the US Justice Department. 9 FIFA officials were arrested and more arrests are said to follow. It is believed that Blatter’s resignation forced because the investigations by the US Justice Department are close to implicating him as well, in corruption cases related to FIFA.
While most people in Europe and South America were delighted by the news, such as former Brazilian star Romario, the reactions in Asia were muted. Romario was a happy man. He said: “The best news for ages! Joseph Blatter stepping down as FIFA president represents the beginning of a new era for world football. I now hope that the waters of this big wave will prove sufficient to sweep away all the corruption.”
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said released a statement where it said that they were hoping for the best: “The AFC is closely monitoring the situation, and will discuss with its member associations and sister confederations in order to find the best way forward for both FIFA and world football.”
New Zealand Football’s Andy Martin welcomed Blatter’s resignation and said, “When we announced our intention to vote for Prince Ali [Bin Al Hussein] last week, we said real change within FIFA could only be implemented with a new president in place.
“We believe today’s announcement is the right decision to begin to rebuild the reputation of FIFA. We look forward to playing a role in the coming process to secure a positive change which benefits everyone who loves the game of football.”
The Football Federation of Australia also welcomed Blatter’s resignation. They said it was the first step to ensure accountability returned to football: “The challenge is not just to change the top elected position, but the governance structure at all levels and the culture that underpins it. Australia will remain an active voice within the forums of FIFA and AFC in promoting governance reform and a new era of transparency.”
In England, there were massive celebrations at Blatter’s resignation as there is a belief that it was Blatter’s intervention that deprived England from hosting the World Cup – the bid was eventually won by Qatar, amid allegations of corruption from the English press.
English Football Association chairman Greg Dyke said: “We welcome today’s announcement and believe it is good news for world football and Fifa. Change at the very top of Fifa is the necessary first step in delivering real reform of the organization. We will now commit ourselves to play whatever role we can to support a positive transformation of Fifa for the benefit of all.”
Gary Lineker, a bitter Blatter critic, famous sports commentator and former England player tweeted with great sarcasm: “Blatter has resigned. Can’t quite believe it. Fifa always appeared to be such a fine upstanding organization.”
It is only in Asia and Africa that Blatter’s resignation is being mourned. Blatter is seen as one of the few football officials who made a genuine effort to improve the game in the developing nations of Asia and Africa. As one African football administrator said, Blatter genuinely liked Africa, which was something he could not say about other European football administrators. So, it is here, in Asia and Africa that Blatter will be missed.
So who will replace Blatter? The 59-year-old Michel Platini, former French football star and the president UEFA seems to be the most likely candidate. He has the advantage of being seen as honest and untainted by corruption.
