So Long, Sepp
The day that us football fans thought would never come has finally arrived. Sepp Blatter's 17 year reign as FIFA President came to an end this afternoon following his resignation. My father's reaction to the news was to shout "YES!" and to do a fistpump. Which gives you some idea about what this means to football fans. The allegations made by the US authorities last week against FIFA didn't really come as any great surprise. We've all been aware that the entire organisation has revolved around corruption for years.
Yet throughout, Blatter seemed untouchable. Last Friday, when he won yet another term as FIFA President, it appeared as though it would be business as usual. This morning, evidence was released suggesting Jerome Valcke's complicity in a $10m bribe to Jack Warner of CONCACAF, in return for his vote for South Africa to host the 2010 World Cup. As FIFA's general secretary, Valcke's proximity to Blatter ultimately could not be ignored.
Part of me still thinks this is some sort of elaborate joke and that Blatter will reappear tomorrow claiming that his evil twin brother set him up and that he'd be returning to office. It would be equally as bizzare as some of his public pronouncements to date, including his belief that female footballers should wear tighter shorts and that Manchester United were somehow engaging in "modern slavery" over Cristiano Ronaldo's transfer to Real Madrid.
I don't think anyone expects anything at FIFA to change overnight but there remains hope that the organisation might undergo root and branch reform. Then we can get onto the business of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups and the particular ludicrous decision to host the latter in Qatar, where thousands of migrant workers have already died in construction work. That might go some way to restoring the tarnished reputation of the beautiful game.
Yet throughout, Blatter seemed untouchable. Last Friday, when he won yet another term as FIFA President, it appeared as though it would be business as usual. This morning, evidence was released suggesting Jerome Valcke's complicity in a $10m bribe to Jack Warner of CONCACAF, in return for his vote for South Africa to host the 2010 World Cup. As FIFA's general secretary, Valcke's proximity to Blatter ultimately could not be ignored.
Part of me still thinks this is some sort of elaborate joke and that Blatter will reappear tomorrow claiming that his evil twin brother set him up and that he'd be returning to office. It would be equally as bizzare as some of his public pronouncements to date, including his belief that female footballers should wear tighter shorts and that Manchester United were somehow engaging in "modern slavery" over Cristiano Ronaldo's transfer to Real Madrid.
I don't think anyone expects anything at FIFA to change overnight but there remains hope that the organisation might undergo root and branch reform. Then we can get onto the business of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups and the particular ludicrous decision to host the latter in Qatar, where thousands of migrant workers have already died in construction work. That might go some way to restoring the tarnished reputation of the beautiful game.
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