FIFA announced last Monday that elections will be held next February to replace its controversial president, Sepp Blatter. The election is part of a series of overhauls and reforms designed to restore the organisation’s image after a year of corruption allegations.
Blatter, speaking at a news conference after a meeting of FIFA’s governing executive committee, announced new measures to tackle corruption. These include term limits for presidents and integrity checks for top officials.
Blatter, 79, announced his resignation on 2 June, just four days after he was re-elected FIFA president. Blatter will stay in the role, which he has held since 1998, until a successor is announced early next year.
At the conference Blatter said that he “is still the president” and that his mission is “to make sure, at the end of February … that FIFA will have started again”.
Blatter announced, among the many reforms, the creation of a task force helmed by a neutral chairman to investigate potential ethical reforms and increased integrity checks. The reforms have already been criticised because the neutral chairman will be selected “in consultation” with the presidents of FIFA’s six regional confederations and integrity checks will be conducted by FIFA’s ethics committee.
Blatter also suggested increased transparency of executive salaries and term limits for top officials. However, all these proposals are still subject to the approval of FIFA’s member associations; the approval process will take place as part of the February presidential elections.
Blatter’s resignation followed the arrest of seven FIFA officials as part of an investigation that saw 14 people charged with corruption, including FIFA members and sports marketing executives.
In May 2015, prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York, working with FBI and IRS agents, laid charges of bribery, money laundering and racketeering. The prosecution has proceeded with approval from the Swiss Federal Office of Justice.
Blatter himself has not been charged, but both the United States and Swiss governments have promised more arrests to come.
Another criminal case was launched by Swiss prosecutors regarding the bids for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups, to be held in Russia and Qatar respectively.
These cases have followed numerous scandals and corruption allegations regarding FIFA in recent years, severely damaging the organisation’s reputation.
Last December, Michael Garcia, an independent investigator, quit FIFA in protest at the way the organisation handled his report into the bidding for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
It has been speculated that Blatter will change his mind and choose to run in the presidential elections; however, he has vowed to stand down, saying that “there will be a new president. I can’t be the new president, because I am the old president.”
As Blatter faced the media in Zurich on Monday, British comedian, Simon Brodkin, approached him with handfuls of fake money, making a speech that referenced North Korea and the 2026 World Cup. Brodkin threw the cash at the outraged Blatter before security escorted him from the premises.
The stunt was a spoof on allegations that bribery has influenced the way Executive Committee members voted on the locations of World Cup tournaments.
On Monday, Prince Ali bin al-Hussein, who lost to Blatter in the last election, called for him to leave his post immediately.
“President Blatter’s resignation cannot be dragged out any longer. He must leave now,” he said.
Current UEFA (the Union of European Football Associations) President Michel Platini is the favourite of many world football chiefs to take over Blatter’s position.
Sixty-year-old Platini has yet to put his name forward for the role; candidates have until 26 October to do so.
Following Blatter’s announcement, Platini released a statement saying: “we now have a concrete date which means we can look forward to new leadership, which will surely bring with it new ideas and solutions. This is an exciting time for FIFA.”