FIFA PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
Two-thirds majority (139 votes) required in first round of voting. Simple majority required (105 votes) required in the second round of voting.
| Round | 1 | 2 |
| Sepp Blatter (SUI) | 133 | - |
| Prince Ali bin Hussein (JOR) | 73 | withdrew |
BELEAGUERED FIFA president Sepp Blatter defied widespread condemnation and corruption allegations to secure a fifth successive term at the top of world football.
Blatter took 133 of the available 209 votes in the first round of voting in the election at the 65th FIFA Congress in Zurich. His sole opponent, Prince Ali bin Hussein of Jordan, received 73 while three members abstained.
Technically, by the rules, Blatter's first round total was not actually enough for him to win outright as a two-thirds majority (139) was required.
But, on hearing of his 60-vote deficit - and with no third party from which to attract votes - Prince Ali sensibly prevented a completely pointless second vote by officially withdrawing.
Blatter was therefore the winner after one round by default - and, at least in this case, the ridiculous farce had not been extended.
Of course, the Swiss - while seemingly acknowledging his organisation was facing some difficulties - somehow considered the result to be a vindication of his presidency.
He said: "I thank you. You have accepted me for the next 4 years. I will be in command of this boat of FIFA. We will bring it back of shore."
It is a metaphor he has used before. At his last election in 2011, he said: "Our ship is in troubled waters and I am the captain weathering the storm. This is a difficult period for FIFA and I admit that readily.
"Not only is the pyramid shaking but our ship has drawn some water."
But, at that election too, the now 79-year-old Swiss had promised that his fourth term would be his last.
Nevertheless, the u-turn over the length of Blatter's reign is probably one of the least of the alleged crimes committed by FIFA members following a frankly extraordinary week.
On Wednesday, US prosecutors, backed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), indicted 14 FIFA officials and associates, with seven arrested in a dawn raid at their upmarket hotel in Zurich.
They are accused of bribery, racketeering and money-laundering involving tens of millions of dollars since 1991.
Meanwhile, Swiss authorities have launched a separate criminal investigation into the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cup tournaments to Russia and Qatar.
Instead of action only being taken by legal representatives, though, it is now surely also time for people inside football to stand up and defend themselves.
Incredible statistics show 1,200 migrant workers have already died building Qatar's World Cup stadia - there are still provisionally seven years ago. Quite simply, enough is enough.
Undoubtedly, the greatest hope lies with UEFA - ignoring the fact that, in the past, it has hardly been a bastion of good governance either.
Nevertheless, a European boycott of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups now looks as if it is a real possibility - and, for the good of football, it actually needs to happen.
Other major and developing countries - Argentina, perhaps Brazil, and certainly United States and Australia - could join the likes of Germany, Italy, France and England in a competitive 'rebel' tournament.
After all, only then will the most important players in this FIFA farrago - the huge corporate sponsors - actually sit up and take notice.
Ultimately then the aim would be to have a new world governing body still including countries from Africa and Asia.
Elitist isolationism - while a valid UEFA-led tactic in the short-term to put pressure on FIFA - will simply end up breeding yet more resentment in the developing football world.
The argument works the other way too - as, eventually, the lack of African and Asian players involved would make football a duller sport overall.
Nevertheless, in any new arrangement, the weight of votes in the presidential election would need to be changed and directly connected to an improved ranking system.
This would bring to an end the crazy current situation in which dozens of African and Asian countries which have never got close to qualifying for the World Cup finals can out-vote those with the strongest football traditions.
Ideally, it would also then encourage the developing nations to invest their money in the right areas.
For instance, if Qatar or any other footballing backwaters wanted to have more influence in football's new world order, they would need to improve their training facilities and infrastructure.
This would logically produce a better and more consistent team - and up the rankings they would surely go thus earning more influence in an entirely valid way.
Perhaps all that sounds like a pipe-dream - but one thing is for sure: the status quo cannot continue.
Blatter, elected unopposed in 2007 and 2011, still barely faced a challenge this time. One contender, former Portugal star Luis Figo summed up the situation when pulling out of the race earlier this week.
Figo said: "This process is anything but an election. This process is a plebiscite for the delivery of absolute power to one man - something I refuse to go along with."
And, in the end, it was indeed as easy as ABC. This was Another Blatter Coronation.
At the same time, it seems thankfully as if the endgame is approaching. For now, though, it remains unclear whether Blatter - and FIFA - will be brought down by the FBI, by a UEFA-led boycott, or by a combination of the two.
Regardless, it would be simply incredible if he was still in his post by the end of this term. Something must and will happen.
