Fifa president Sepp Blatter won a fifth term in office on Friday to remain at the helm of the world football governing body despite a massive corruption scandal that had erupted two days before the voting when seven officials were arrested.
For Africa, it seemed a vote for continuity while the West, driven mainly by the United States and Britain, angry at the Russia 2018 World Cup, are demanding urgent reforms but without the leadership of Blatter.
The Union of European Football Associations (Uefa) could not provide a candidate for the election preferring to back 39-year-old Prince Ali against Blatter, 79. Luis Figo and Michael Van Praag pulled out before the elections. And come election day, Blatter polled 133 to Prince Ali’s 73, with three spoilt ballots.
Because none of the two candidates had polled the two-thirds majority (140) needed for an outright win in the first round, a second round of polling had to take place. But Prince Ali, probably sensing that he could not get a simple majority in the second round, pulled out leaving Blatter to remain in charge.
Interestingly, while Uefa had called for all their 53 nations to back Prince Ali, it emerged yesterday that almost 18 countries, including Russia, Spain, France, Turkey, Cyprus and Finland, went against orders and voted for Blatter.
With this in mind, it will become impossible for Uefa to push for a boycott of the World Cup when they meet in Berlin this Saturday ahead of the Champions League final. Rather, they could push for the arrest of Blatter so that he does not see out his four years in office.
But again, Uefa president Michel Platini will also be questioned by police in the corruption investigation related to voting for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup finals in Russia and Qatar respectively. But what really made 133 nations back Blatter? Did these nations see a deliberate ploy by the West to take Fifa back to Europe, as it seems Blatter draws more of his power from Africa (54 nations) and Asia?
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Was it a grand plan that Prince Ali was being used to ensure that once he gets into office, he will be used to order a revote for Russia, which is under Western sanctions, and Qatar World Cups and give the finals to England and Australia respectively, who both lost their bids?
Is the rotation policy introduced by Blatter for the staging of the World Cup finals really what the West is against? Was the West even happy that the 2010 event was held in South Africa and they don’t want it back on this continent ever again?
Whatever the reasons, it goes without saying that Blatter has done a lot, especially for developing countries, whose governments, like Zimbabwe, are not able to fund football. For example, Zimbabwe has a new training centre in Mt Hampden and a new Zifa headquarters, approved in 2013, is in the pipeline in Harare and the Football for Hope Centre was built and opened by Fifa in Bulawayo’s high-density suburb of Luveve as part of the 2010 Legacy Programme.
In the well-publicised Goal Project, 698 projects have been done worldwide since Blatter came into office in 1998. A total of 253 technical centres have been built, 149 pitches done, 149 headquarters of national associations done and 35 academies put in place around the world.
A total of 3 844 projects have been done with regard to refereeing, education, performance, women and grassroots developments while over $11 billion has been spent on youth football, bonuses, men’s competitions and women football, some coming in the form of grants, World Cup bonuses, Financial Assistance Programme (FAP) funds.
Is this what Uefa is against, too many billions spent on Africa and Asia? Yes, the issue of corruption seems to be holding water, no doubt.There are corrupt individuals at Fifa and the law needs to be allowed to take its full course. But when the law is driven by American interests, it stinks to high heavens and raises quite some eyebrows.
On the other hand, Fifa needs to reform and can they successfully do that with Blatter in charge?
