By Andrew Warshaw
June 3 – Sepp Blatter’s shock resignation as FIFA president has prompted mixed global reaction, with England leading western relief over his departure after 17 years but African federations ruing the loss of the man who helped the continent grow and many of its nations to stay afloat.
As reaction poured in on both sides of the divide, the debate over who might replace the veteran Swiss picked up steam including several rather silly left-field suggestions such as Diego Maradona.
FIFA has had only eight presidents in its 111 years. All have been European except for Brazilian Joao Havelange. Jordan’s Prince Ali bin Al Hussein, who withdrew from last week’s election after winning 73 votes to Blatter’s 133 in the first round, is understood to be biding his time before deciding whether to put his name forward again despite reports he has already made up his mind to do so.
Prince Ali said it was the “right thing” that Blatter had stepped down but stopped short of confirming he was standing. “I am at the disposal of all the national associations who wanta change, including all of those who were afraid to make a change,” he told CNN.
Most of the western world supported Prince Ali’s views. Even in New Zealand, FA chief executive Andy Martin said Blatter’s resignation would help football rebuild its tattered reputation. “This has lifted a cloud and taken away a lot of the concerns of stakeholders and their association with the sport,” he told Reuters. “We now want a strong collaborative leader who can bring the football world together and can bring out the change that the game has been crying out for.”
US Soccer boss Sunil Gulati, who cut a despondent figure in the wake of Sepp Blatter’s election victory, commented: “The announcement today by President Blatter represents an exceptional and immediate opportunity for positive change within FIFA.”
” I commend him for making a decision that puts FIFA and the sport we love above all other interests. This is the first of many steps towards real and meaningful reform within FIFA. Today is an occasion for optimism and belief for everyone who shares a passion for our game.”
And in Brazil, part of a continent that turned its back on Blatter at last week’s ballot, Romario, 1994 World Cup winner and now Brazilian senator, declared: “This is the best news in a long time, the start of a new era for world soccer. All corrupt federation leaders around the world will feel their fall coming like a tsunami. I hope that this great wave is enough to wash out all the corruption led by the world’s highest soccer authority.”
Major sponsors including Coca-Cola Co and Adidas, who had expressed misgivings about the impact of the burgeoning scandal, also welcomed Blatter’s move.
Coke’s statement said: “We respect Mr. Blatter’s decision. The announcement today is a positive step for the good of sport, football and its fans. Our expectation remains that FIFA will continue to act with urgency to take concrete actions to fully address all of the issues that have been raised and win back the trust of all who love the sport of football. We believe this decision will help FIFA transform itself rapidly into a much-needed 21st Century structure and institution.”
However, cultures are very different depending on the Continent concerned. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC), which has been a staunch ally of Blatter, said it was monitoring the situation and would discuss internally the “best way forward for both FIFA and world football”. That didn’t appear, by any means, to be an endorsement of Prince Ali amid speculation that the AFC will go for an entirely different candidate.
In Africa, where Blatter enjoyed the bedrock of his support, Kalusha Bwalya, Zambia’s FA president, said he was shocked. “The man has done a lot for FIFA,” he said. “For Africa he was always there, he was always caring. I did not see today coming. But I could see last week in Zurich it was very tough for him. The Western media saw to it and (UEFA president Michel) Platini was unsporting in asking him three times to step down.”
FIFA’s revenues were roughly $560 million in 1998 when Blatter took over and $5.7 billion last year. No wonder then that the likes of Sierra Leone expressed its disappointment.
The country’s female FA president, Isha Johansen, told the BBC: “I’m disappointed he’s had to leave under these circumstances. Blatter had one thing after another coming at him. It is becoming overwhelming (but) the circus around football has taken over. There’s a women’s World Cup round the corner. It’s overshadowed the game itself globally. Every head of an institution or an organisation or a country has to bear responsibility at some point for wrongdoing, whether you are directly involved or not. But he said as much himself. Most of the Africans looked upon him as a father figure.”
Blatter was reportedly advised to call it a day once FIFA had denied that his right-hand man, Secretary-General Jerome Valcke, was implicated in a $10 million payment relating to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa that is at the heart of the US probe into widescale corruption.
A letter addressed to Valcke from the South African Football Association outlining the reasons for requesting the money was leaked to and published by Britain’s Press Association. Within hours, FIFA called an emergency news conference where Blatter announced his decision . But even then, much to the irritation of his critics, he refused to hold his hands up and admit his role in the crisis declaring he was now free from “constraints”.
As a proud man, that was typical Blatter but there were some, even in Europe, who refused to criticise him.
Former FIFA presidential candidate Jerome Champagne, the first person to announce his candidacy but who couldn’t get the requisite five nominations, is one of those considered a possible candidate next time round.
“My first reaction is one of surprise as I did not expect this but at the same time I am very grateful,” champagne was quoted as saying. “The FIFA president has put FIFA’s interests before his own, it is a form of sacrifice and I am also excited by the fact he has put together an ambitious reform programme before leaving office.”
Champagne spent 11 years working close to Blatter before being ousted in coup allegedly led by Platini. He says he will bide his time before deciding whether to run again.
“I was surprised after (Blatter) having achieved such a clear victory on Friday. But I was also impressed by the strong resolve [in his statment] to clean and reform FIFA and the world pyramid before a new electoral process would take place.
“As far as I understood, it is not a resignation but a shortened mandate. I welcome the deep-rooted organizational overhaul which has been announced because, as a candidate, I defended strong reforms of the FIFA governance and executive committee.”
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