Blatter to Receive Strong Challenge
Joseph “Sepp” Blatter’s days as president of soccer’s international governing body appeared to be numbered Saturday when Africa, Europe and Asia lined up behind a candidate who will challenge Blatter in the May 29 FIFA election in Seoul.
Issa Hayatou, president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and a member of the International Olympic Committee, announced in Cairo that he would run against Blatter.
Hayatou, 55, a FIFA vice president from Cameroon, said he would campaign on a reform ticket.
“Myself and my supporters want to restore peace, confidence and security to the FIFA organization,” he said. “I want to reinforce the credibility of FIFA and restore its integrity as an institution.”
The 204-nation body has been racked by controversy during Blatter’s term in office, which began immediately before the 1998 World Cup in France. Most notably, FIFA’s financial situation has been brought into question after the collapse of its World Cup marketing partner ISMM/ISL last year at a cost to FIFA of at least $30 million and possibly as much as $300 million.
Hayatou’s candidacy was immediately supported by Sweden’s Lennart Johnasson, the president of UEFA, European soccer’s governing body. Johnasson was defeated by Blatter, 111-80, in 1998 voting amid claims that Blatter’s supporters had resorted to bribery to win the election.
“When I bid for the FIFA presidency four years ago, Mr. Hayatou supported me as if he were campaigning for himself,” Johansson said. “Now I fully endorse his campaign.
“I have worked with him since we both joined the FIFA executive committee together in 1990. He is a man of honor, very productive and loyal to football. He knows what transparency, solidarity and loyalty mean. I sincerely hope he wins this campaign.”
Also backing Hayatou is Chung Mong Joon, president of the South Korean soccer federation and a powerful figure in Asian soccer.
“I am sure I have the support of a large majority of the African [soccer] associations,” said Hayatou, chairman of the organizing committee for the soccer tournament of the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, where Cameroon won the gold medal. “I am not a European, but I have the support of UEFA.... If I didn’t believe I had their support, I would not have put myself forward.
“I want to bring the transparency back to FIFA, not only in the financial management, but in the management of men as well.”
Blatter’s support at the moment comes only from CONCACAF and South America. If Hayatou can unseat Blatter at the FIFA Congress in Seoul in May, he would become the first African president in the 98-year history of FIFA.
Blatter has promised Africa it will stage the 2010 World Cup.
