Will Sepp Blatter, The Most Powerful Man In Football, Escape The Taint Of Fifa Corruption And Win A Fifth Term As President?


Sepp Blatter is currently the most powerful man in football, but the Fifa President helms an organization that has been tainted by the corruption and greed of many of its members. Will Blatter escape the taint of Fifa corruption and win a fifth term as president in today’s elections? More importantly, does he deserve to?

Fifa, football’s governing body, was left reeling after two corruption inquiries by U.S authorities, which saw seven Fifa officials arrested in Switzerland and a total of 14 people indicted for corruption involving bribes alleged to be in excess of $150m.

Fifa is responsible for running world football and, although it has been dogged in recent times by corruption – particularly the award of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar – not many could have imagined the damaging scale of their shady tactics.

The Fifa World Cup generates billions of dollars in revenue. The exposure of Fifa wrongdoing now casts doubt on the integrity of the process that has allocated the last three tournaments. Can it be said that the President of Fifa and the most powerful man in football was unaware of any corruption in the organization he heads?

The American indictments focus on corruption allegations as far back as 1991. Blatter has been Fifa President since 1998, but he has served as the general secretary of Fifa since 1981. Blatter is currently in the eye of the storm and the centre of what the Mirror describes as the mother of all corruption scandals, but is the 79-year-old being unjustly treated in light of the Fifa corruption, and will this have an adverse effect on his campaign to be voted in for a fifth term as president?

Argentine footballing legend Diego Maradona certainly believes that Blatter has been tainted to his core by the corruption that has eaten away at Fifa.

The Economic Times reported that Maradona told Buenos Aires radio station La Red that Blatter’s corruption is a poorly kept secret.

“Watch out, Blatter may have to go the United States to explain himself. They’ve been after him for 10 years.

“I have been saying this for a long time. They said I was crazy. Today the FBI spoke the truth. We’ll have to see if Blatter wins after this. The Americans did an impeccable job.”

Blatter was recently forced to deny reports that he was avoiding stepping foot in the U.S because of a warrant for his arrest and, despite pressure for him to quit, the most powerful man in football said he will stay on to “lift the shadow” cast by the arrests.

We will know if this is the case by the end of today. The Fifa President is largely expected to win a fifth term. Out of the 209 member associations, he has the support of the two biggest voting blocs in Africa and Asia, but in light of recent events will Sepp Blatter be dismissed in favor of his only challenger, Prince Ali bin al-Hussein?

As Blatter himself once explained: “I am a mountain goat that keeps going and going and going, I cannot be stopped, I just keep going.”

Time will tell.

(Photo By Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)

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