ZURICH Sepp Blatter was re-elected FIFA president on Wednesday after a major bribery scandal left him as the only candidate to deal with a sport reeling from a wave of corruption allegations.
Blatter, a 75-year-old Swiss executive who has been in office since 1998, was handed a final four-year term as head of soccer's governing body in a vote at FIFA's congress.
He received 186 votes out of 203 ballots.
After a tense week of drama and controversy surrounding his unchallenged candidacy, Blatter was beaming as he came into the congress hall to a standing ovation and warm applause after the result was announced.
"Vamos! Vamos! Vamos!" said an ebullient Blatter, using the Spanish term for "Let's go!"
He immediately took steps toward major reform by winning the assembly's backing for his proposal to have future World Cup hosts selected in a vote of all 208 federations instead of the 24-man executive committee. The congress also endorsed his plans to revamp the ethics committee and bring in more transparency.
Blatter said he also planned to appoint a woman to the executive committee.
FIFA will meet again later this year to formally adopt the measures.
"We will put FIFA's ship back on the right course in clear transparent waters," he said in French. "We will need some time. We cannot do it from one day to the next. It's a new challenge for me and I accept it."
The election went ahead after England's call for a postponement of Blatter's unopposed "coronation" amid the ethics crisis was overwhelmingly rejected by the delegates. England's FA chairman David Bernstein left before the vote.
Hours earlier, Blatter promised fundamental reform to tackle the scandals and vowed to let the 208 national federations choose the host of future World Cups instead of the 24-man executive committee.
The re-election completed a frantic week for Blatter, who strained under the weight of accusations targeting the top echelons of FIFA and himself as guardian of the game and the World Cup.
"We have been hit and I personally have been slapped," Blatter said. "I don't want that ever again."
The impending election of an incumbent as the only candidate had dealt a serious blow to FIFA's democratic credentials over the past week.
Blatter's sole challenger, Qatari executive committee member Mohamed bin Hammam, withdrew from the race last weekend and was suspended pending a full probe into allegations of bribing Caribbean voters during the campaign. FIFA vice president Jack Warner of Trinidad was also suspended for involvement in the alleged payoffs.
Despite the bribery scandal that saw the heads of the Asian and CONCACAF confederations suspended, the overwhelming backing was a ringing endorsement for Blatter.
"I am happy we are able to bring this solidarity, this unity in FIFA," Blatter said.
No comments:
Post a Comment