Sports
What next for FIFA as Blatter resigns?
Geneva, June 3
After getting re-elected last
week to a fifth consecutive term as FIFA president -- comprehensively
defeating Jordanian challenger Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein, Swiss Sepp
Blatter surprised the football world on Tuesday when he announced that
he had finally decided to step down. Speculations have begun a day later
as to who shall succeed the world football strongman who led FIFA for
17 years.
Four days into his four-year term, Blatter told a press
conference held at the Zurich headquarters of the football world
governing body that "FIFA needs a complete overhaul... I do not feel
that I have a mandate from the entire world of football", reports
Xinhua.
An extraordinary Congress is to be organised by FIFA's
executive committee as soon as possible so that a new president can be
elected.
According to Tribune de Geneve, this will take place
some time between December 2015 and March 2016, until which time the
79-year-old will remain at the federation's helm which he has headed
since 1998.
Blatter's decision came as a shock because the Swiss
had been easily re-elected for a fifth consecutive term -- and the world
football governing body's crisis continues to rage amid continuing
revelations in a widespread corruption scandal.
Seven top FIFA
officials were arrested by Swiss police at their Zurich hotel last
Wednesday by Swiss police on the request of US authorities, a day before
FIFA's 65th two-day congress was to begin.
A total of nine
high-profile North, Central and South-American FIFA officials besides
five corporate executives have been indicted on allegations of fraud,
bribery and money laundering.
The crisis, however, seems far from
over as Jerome Valcke, Blatter's right-hand man and FIFA secretary
general, has now found himself enmeshed in bribery accusations.
According
to Le Temps, citing American media, the Frenchman is believed to have
transferred $10 million to accounts managed by FIFA's former vice
president Jack Warner to seal the deal on South Africa's 2010 World Cup
candidacy -- FIFA has, however, cleared Valcke's name from any
wrongdoing.
Le Temps cites this latest development as the tipping
point which encouraged Blatter to resign, as he "knew that this affair
was going to poison his fifth mandate".
Though Blatter benefitted
from the support of both the Confederation of African Football (CAF)
and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), even prior to the elections,
European football association (UEFA) head Michel Platini had asked the
Swiss to step down, telling him that "enough is enough" in a pointed
reference to allegations of corruption against Blatter.
Now that
the wheels have been set in motion for the deep structural changes
called for by Blatter on Tuesday to take place, speculations as to who
will stand for president have begun.
Domenico Scala, the
independent chairman of FIFA's audit and compliance committee, will lead
the search for Blatter's successor as well as facilitate the
implementation of reforms which will "include fundamental changes to the
way in which this organization is structured".
According to
media reports, Jordanian Prince Ali, who secured 73 out of the 206 valid
votes on Friday at the FIFA Congress, has already thrown his hat in the
ring for the presidency.
Platini has also been suggested as a
possible contender, as have Michael van Praag and Luis Figo, who were
candidates in this year's election until withdrawing from the race
shortly before the ballot took place.
Though it is still too
early to say who will definitely stand for the vaunted position, what is
certain is that it will be FIFA's 209-member Congress that will have
the final say.