
By World News Report Bureau
Joseph Sepp Blatter beat Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein of Jordan at the 65th FIFA Congress in Zurich to retain control and be re-elected for the fifth time as president of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA).
But then, Sepp Blatter is going to have his hands full cleaning the mess in FIFA’s backyard. FIFA the governing body of international soccer is a cesspool of bad governance, corruption, bribes, illegal ticket sales and scandals.
“FIFA is rotten inside, out. You cannot clean an organization which does not want to stay clean”, said a source who did not wish to be identified.
Former chairman of the English Football Association, Lord Triesman one described FIFA as an organization that “behaves like a mafia family”.
In the words of Theo Zwanziger former president of the German football federation it’s not a person but the system that is faulty.
The recently arrest of fourteen FIFA officials including vice president Jeffery Webb in Zurich, Switzerland is testimony of the unholy dealings and irregularities in FIFA which rake takes in billions of dollars of revenue from television sponsorships and marketing rights.
Sepp Blatter’s role:
The biggest question in everyone’s minds is did Sepp Blatter know what was happening in FIFA? If so why didn’t he try to stop it? If not, why? What was he doing?
As FIFA’s president since 1998, Sepp Blatter can hardly claim that he was unaware of the rot in 111-year-old FIFA — one of the wealthiest and most powerful sports bodies in the world.
It is a known fact that corruption not only compromises the quality of play on field, but also tarnishes the image of the game.
Founded in 1904 FIFA is responsible for organizing major international football tournaments including the World Cup, Women’s World Cup and controlling the sporting activities in 209 countries and six confederations.
Though FIFA does not control the rules of football, it is responsible for organizing, promotion, and sponsorship. Nearly 90 percent of FIFA’s revenue comes from selling the rights for the World Cup. Aparts from this, it earns profits in the distribution of ticketing, hospitality, licensing rights for FIFA video games and investments.
FIFA made $2.1bn from the World Cup in 2014. Likewise between 2011 and 2014 its total revenues exceeded $5.7bn.
FIFA is an association established under the Laws of Switzerland with its headquarters in Zurich.
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