By Andrew Warshaw
May 13 – Sepp Blatter says he has got the Presidential election in the bag by a landslide despite the serious corruption allegations that have rocked FIFA once again.
Writing in today’s edition of the Swiss tabloid Blick, Blatter said he would sweep home with a two-thirds majority on June 1, the first time he has actually estimated his winning margin over rival Mohamed Bin Hammam.
Blatter, 75, is seeking a fourth term as president as he takes on the head of Asian football in the head-to-head ballot close to FIFA headquarters in Zurich.
“South America, Central and North America, Europe, Oceania and a large part of Africa and Asia will continue to support my ideas,” he said, referring to all six Confederations.
Whether Blatter’s assessment is accurate depends on how many individual countries follow the party line.
Africa, for instance, could end up giving majority support to Bin Hammam if a recent survey of federation chairmen is to be believed while Asia – Bin Hammam’s traditional power base – looks like being split, as does Europe.
Describing the vote as “all or nothing” for FIFA, Blatter said Bin Hammam’s call for a change of leadership would be akin to “the shifting of a tectonic plate” that would cause “irreversible damage” for football.
“It’s about the survival of FIFA as such, whether the world organisation of football which has grown successfully continues to exist or disappears into a black hole,” Blatter added.
Bin Hammam this week criticised Blatter for being too autocratic and said that if wins, he plans to widen FIFA’s power base.
But Blatter retorted: “A world organisation such as FIFA can only be run as a pyramid.
“Executive powers have to be handled centrally just as they are in any other world organisation.”
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