African votes set to save Blatter’s skin

It may not be all over for Sepp Blatter.

European and Americans who see no merit whatsoever in the elderly Swiss’ rule may be in fir a rude awakening.

Those who believe that all the world of football was waiting for was an eligible challenger may be disappointed despite the appearance of Jerome Champagne and Dutch football association (KNVB) President Michael van Praag.

Champagne did not even accrue five nominations.Van Praag may now find his anti Blatter vote seeping to surprise candidate Luis Figo. But that may not matter.

According to Mark Gleeson in the London Evening Standard, Blatter can rely on solid support form the 53 African Nations in his quest for a fifth successive term as FIFA President.

Molefi Oliphant is a former president of the South African Football Federation. He told Gleeson:

“The continent is united behind him, (Blatter). We made a formal endorsement of his candidacy last year at our meeting in Rio de Janeiro already.”

Oliphant still sits on the executive of the CAF (Confederation of African Football) so likely has his finger on the pulse of African thinking on the future of the presidency.

Kwesi Nyantakyi is the president of the Ghana Football Association and a Confederation of African Football executive committee member. He explained Blatter’s popularity:

“He has done a lot for the continent. It is he who has set up the financial assistance programmes and who through the Goal project has built infra structure in all of the countries.

“The Europeans don’t understand that. They say it is not his own money but FIFA’s but that’s not the point. He is the one who set up all the assistance programmes that have helped boost African football.”

Blatter also delivered the 2010 World Cup to the continent and it seems that has not been forgotten either.

FIFA consists of 209 member nations, each of whom have one vote in selecting the new president. Africa has 53 of those votes. Most analysts think he also has the support of CONMEBOL’s 10 associations. That takes him to a block of 63. The European Federation UEFA has 54, some of whom would only be prepared to take the risk of backing an opponent if he had a credible chance.

Of the opponents to Blatter only Van Praag, and the Jordanian Prince Ali, the Asian vice-president on the FIFA executive committee, looked like getting the necessary backing of five national associations to qualify as official candidates. The bedrock of Figo’s support remains an unknown.

It may be hard to fathom in the western world but Sepp Blatter is not as universally loathed as he is in the non-African English speaking world and western Europe.

We may not have quite seen the back of him yet.

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