By Andrew Warshaw in Sao Paulo
June 11 – Sepp Blatter opened the formal part of the FIFA Congress today by tellingly pledging the organisation would continue to “lead by example” despite persistent allegations of corruption that came to head 24 hours earlier when he was asked to step down by European members.
Welcoming all 209 FIFA federations, Blatter told his audience: “It is our duty to lead by example and behave as an example.”
Despite the scepticism within the general football public about Blatter’s credentials to continue in the job, he gave another clear indication that he feels he is the right man to drive forward FIFA’s reform process even though his critics insist it has not gone nearly far enough. Michael Garcia, the FIFA ethics committee prosecutor probing the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids was due to address Congress later in the day when a series of other key topics were also to be debated, including the unresolved issue of age and term limits, and the Palestine-Irsael crisis.
“Our world is changing and our organisation must change,” said Blatter. “Sometimes the geopolitical map of the world creates controversial situations. We are still in our reform process but we are (almost) at the end. It is our duty to keep football going forward but also to keep our governance and our control not only on the level of FIFA but the level of the national associations and the level of the confederations.
“Football is not just a game. I don’t know if it is good or not, it is a multibillion dollar business. It creates powerful opportunities but sometimes it creates controversial situations and some difficulties.”
Turning to the scourge of racism that continues to plague certain regions of the world, Blatter said football’s authorities had to do more to eradicate it. “We must impose the toughest punishments to send a clear message. Suspensions and empty stadiums are not enough. We should be docking points, expelling teams or relegating them.”
In his formal presidential address that followed a few minutes later, Blatter chronicled FIFA’s achievements since taking over in 1998, a taster to what many expected would be an official announcement at the end of the Congress that he is putting his name forward for a fifth term of office despite UEFA’s strong objections.
Earlier, Brazilian FA president Jose Maria Marin dismissed the less-than-enthusiastic buildup to the tournament among the Brazilian public by declaring the World Cup would be “unforgettable and perfect in detail.”
“We are coming towards the end of a route full of challenges,” he said.
First things first, however. It seemed a long day was in prospect at the Congress when it emerged that the electronic voting system traditionally used by delegates to go through the agenda had broken down, meaning every item had to be decided by a show of hands.
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