Blatter flags FIFA reform

FIFA President Sepp Blatter has revealed plans to reform the organisation based on the structure of the International Olympic Committee.

Blatter, 75, is running against the head of the Asian Football Confederation, Mohammad Bin Hammam, in the FIFA Presidential elections, set for June 1.

Football’s governing body came in for widespread criticism following the decision to award the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar respectively.

And Switzerland’s Blatter, who has been in office since 1998, has now joined Bin Hammam in announcing plans to revise the secretive voting system of FIFA’s executive committee.

“It’s a project I’ve had at the back of my mind. I would like to (follow) the example of the IOC, to prevent what happened,” Blatter told the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper, referring to instances of corruption that blighted the recent World Cup bidding process.

“The executive (would) receive 10 or 12 bids, look at them, and pick the best (for) the full congress to choose.”

While the executive committee consists of only 24 senior officials, opening the decision up to the full congress would see 208 people – one representative per member country – choose the location of the quadrennial showcase tournament.

Blatter also touched on plans to develop a body to oversee the reforms, with a specific person already in mind to lead the initiative.

“I can’t tell you the name yet. He will choose the other members,” Blatter said.

“They should be familiar with football but their priority will be to restore credibility.”

Blatter claims to be surprised by Bin Hammam’s decision to try and unseat him, but remains confident of seeing off his latest challenger.

“I don’t know why Bin Hammam became so aggressive suddenly. He repeatedly told the executive he would not run against me and now he is doing it,” Blatter said.

“I imagine that I have about the half votes from Asia and Africa and surely a majority in the rest of the world.”