Blatter wins Fifa vote amid corruption storm

Sepp Blatter won the FIfa presidency for a fifth time Friday after his challenger Prince Ali bin al Hussein withdrew just before a scheduled second round.

"I take the responsibility to bring back Fifa," Blatter said after his victory was declared. "I'm convinced we can do it."

He continued, "I promise you in the end of my term, I will give this Fifa to my successor in a very, very strong, strong position...and a good Fifa."

The veteran Swiss powerbroker fell seven votes short of the required 140 majority in the first round of voting.

Just before the second round was about to start the Jordanian prince, a Fifa vice-president who had campaigned on the need for reform, withdrew thanking those "brave enough" to vote for him.

Blatter, 79, has been Fifa's president since 1998 and has defied European calls to stand down as corruption scandals tarnish the multi-billion dollar body's image.

"I like my job," Blatter said. "I'm not perfect. Nobody's perfect, but we will do a good job together, I'm sure. ...So I thank you for the trust and confidence."

The 209 Fifa member federations gave the 79-year-old Blatter another four-year term on Friday after Prince Ali bin Al Hussein of Jordan conceded defeat after losing 133-73 in the first round.

Prince Ali's promise of a clean break from Fifa's tarnished recent history was rejected despite the worst scandal in the organisation's 111-year history.

Scandal

Blatter's victory came despite demands that he quit in the face of a major bribery scandal being investigated by US, Swiss and other law enforcement agencies that plunged the world soccer body into the worst crisis in its 111-year history.

Neither Blatter nor Jordanian challenger Prince Ali bin Al Hussein got the necessary two thirds of the vote in the first round, with Blatter on 133 and Prince Ali on 73. Prince Ali later conceded.

In a victory speech, Blatter declared: "Let's go Fifa, let's go Fifa," to a standing ovation.

Speaking just before the vote, Blatter, who joined Fifa in 1975, said he felt that he had only been with the organization for a short time and wanted to stay longer.

"What is time anyway. I find that the time I have spent at Fifa is very short," he said. "The more one ages the more time flies by quickly. I am with you, and I would like to stay with you," he said to applause.

Prince Ali, in his pitch for votes, had pledged an open, more democratic Fifa, saying: "We have heard in recent days, voices which described our Fifa as an avaricious body which feeds on the game that the world loves.

"There are no easy answers. And no blame that can be cast that will wash away the stain that marks us all," he said.
 

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.