Undeterred by arrests, soccer boss Blatter plots another great escape

A combination photo shows eight of the nine football officials indicted for corruption charges in these file photos. From L-R: (top row) then President of the Brazilian Football Confederation Jose Maria Marin, President of the Venezuelan Football Federation Rafael Esquivel, President of Costa Rica’s Football Federation Eduardo Li, then President of South American Football Confederation CONMEBOL Nicolas Leoz, (bottom row) then President of the Nicaraguan Football Federation Julio Rocha, then Acting President of CONMEBOL Eugenio Figueredo, then FIFA Executive member Jack Warner, and President of Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football CONCACAF Jeffery Webb. Seven of the most powerful figures in global soccer faced extradition to the United States on corruption charges after being arrested on May 27, 2015, in Switzerland, where authorities also announced a criminal investigation into the awarding of the next two World Cups. The U.S. Department of Justice named those arrested in its case as: Webb, Li, Rocha, Costas Takkas, Figueredo, Esquivel and Marin. U.S. authorities said nine football officials, including Warner and Leoz, and five sports media and promotions executives faced corruption charges involving more than $150 million in bribes. [Photo/Agencies]

AMIABLE IMPRESSION

Blatter comes across as an amiable character with eccentric ideas about football but he has shown in the past that he possesses a ruthless instinct for survival and extraordinary political nous.

In 2001, FIFA faced potential financial ruin following the collapse of its marketing partner ISL/ISMM and Blatter was subjected to intense pressure to reveal details of FIFA finances.

He recovered from that obstacle and today his federation boasts reserves of more than $1 billion.

Blatter faced further troubles in 2002 when FIFA's then secretary general Michel Zen-Ruffinen claimed Blatter's 1998 election victory was based on bribery and corruption.

Blatter threatened legal action but never followed up the threat and when he beat Issa Hayatou of Cameroon by 139 votes to 56 in that year's election, Zen-Ruffinen was soon out of a job.

Four years ago, he was elected unopposed after his only rival, Mohamed Bin Hamman, was investigated in a cash-for-votes scandal and forced to withdraw.

Blatter has mastered the FIFA electoral system where the 209 member associations each hold one vote, meaning that tiny American Samoa holds the same voting rights as soccer powers like Brazil or Germany.

FIFA distributes revenue equally among its 209 members, a policy which helped the likes of Cape Verde to reach the African Nations Cup quarter-finals in 2013 and Costa Rica the World Cup quarter-finals last year.

Only Europe, which holds 53 votes, has pledged to vote against Blatter and, although some other associations may break ranks, those would be unlikely to result in more than a small dent in Blatter's majority.

Outside Europe, federations see Blatter as the force which keeps the game truly global in the face of the growing financial power of a handful of elite European clubs and leagues.

"He understands the cultures of different parts of the world that make up FIFA, so it is no coincidence that most of the members would vote for him," said Michel D'Hooge, 68, the honorary president of the Belgian FA and a FIFA executive committee member since 1988, told Reuters in August.

"Of course, you can say that they feel good because they receive a lot of money and grants from FIFA - that is his political behaviour."

Blatter, who has repeatedly said that he does not choose his executive committee, was said to be carrying on as usual on Wednesday and getting ready for Friday's election.

"He is focused on the Congress and, for everybody involved, the stress factor is a little higher today than yesterday, but he is quite relaxed that he is not involved," said De Gregorio. "He will accept what will happen."

"He is not dancing in his office, but he is very calm, he is fully cooperative with everybody. He is not a happy man but he knows this is the consequences of what we initiated. It's a surprise that it happened today but not a surprise that it happened."