By Andrew Warshaw, chief correspondent
June 19 – FIFA President Sepp Blatter may still not have confirmed publicly whether he intends to remain in the job when his current four-year mandate expires in 2015 but his number two has added to growing indications that the veteran Swiss may yet try to carry on into a fifth term.
Blatter has just seen his much publicised reform process passed by Congress and although he originally announced his intention to step down after 17 years as president and hand over to someone younger, he has been dropping the odd hint that he might wait until the reform measures start to bite.
FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke has now added to the intrigue by saying his boss, president since 1998, is still the best man for the job.
“The current president is very good. Why should he not run again?” asked Valcke at a news conference on the sidelines of the Confederations Cup in Brazil in response to a question about his own ambitions for the future. “Why should he not remain as the FIFA president? I mean, he’s doing a great job.”
Whether Valcke’s remarks were simply a way of keeping his powder dry by deflecting attention away from himself and saying the right thing, or a genuine insight into Blatter’s thinking, is hard to tell. But there is no doubt that the prospect of Blatter reversing his previous pledge, made before he was re-elected unopposed in 2011, is beginning to pick up speed.
At the FIFA Congress in Mauritius last month, Blatter made sure that a key part of his reform agenda – term limits and age restrictions – was pushed back to next year’s gathering of member associations. With UEFA president Michel Platini waiting in the wings, many observers viewed the move as a deliberate to buy time in order for Blatter for make his mind up about standing again.
“Why change a team which is a good team and a winning team?” asked Valcke. “I mean, we have time. 2015 is in a bit less than two years, so, we’ll see.”