The era of sepp blatter is about to end but today in Zurich the 79-year-old Swiss will be elected for the fifth consecutive time at the helm of football's highest body: the Fifa. And for a change, this year's election is also surrounded by controversy and poison.
But the meeting meeting today in Zurich will be even hotter after the incredible corruption case that exploded last Wednesday and which caused the arrest of seven executives, with Blatter registered in the register of suspects.
A case that exploded on the eve ofelection of the FIFA president and which has seriously questioned the renewal of confidence in Blatter until 2019. The Swiss, in FIFA since 1977, general secretary since 1981 and president since 1998, should be re-elected for the fifth time as head of the world body of football but, according to some rumors, he could soon take the helm.
Blatter had already begun to lose support within the various continental federations (Uefa in primis) for some time but after the corruption scandal that exploded in the middle of the week, even the sponsor they seem to back off. This is the case, for example, ofUN with spokesman Stephane Dujarric saying: "We need to take a very close look at the existing partnerships with Fifa and how the situation evolves."
However, the situation is clear: Blatter will he win for re-election over his only challenger, the Jordanian prince Ali bin Hussein, probably starting from the second ballot when half plus one of the votes of the congress will suffice: 105.
Sepp Blatter 'confides' in the support of the African federations (54 votes), a good part of the Asian ones (46 votes) and South America (10 votes) plus Russia. These four fronts would be enough to confirm his presidency: a line-up, the pro Blatter one, which perfectly reflects the assignment of the last four world championships: South Africa 2010, Brazil 2014, Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022.
On the other hand, there is the European front strongly characterized by an anti-Blatter vocation rather than being pro-Hussein. At the head of the European front there is obviously Michel Platini who on the matter of corruption in Fifa used very harsh words: "I'm disgusted, I really can't stand it anymore", asking for Blatter's resignation. With the European federations, almost all anti-Blatter, there is also part of the Concacaf (Football Federation of North and Central America), the countries of Oceania and some Asian football federations. Too few, however, today, to undermine the throne of Sepp Blatter. But the revolution will start tomorrow and le Roi Michel will be at the head of it, ready, perhaps one day, to sit on the throne of Fifa.
