Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Be Careful What You Wish For

Just 4 days after winning an election, Fifa president Sepp Blatter has announced his resignation as the leader of world football. The stunning news was announced to a shock world audience as Blatter ended his 40 year career. 

It also serves as a warning of be careful what you wish for. 

There is little doubt Blatter resigned after extraordinary pressure exerted by UEFA, the U.S and the EU. World leaders on both sides of the Atlantic has come out to condemn Blatter, Fifa and world football since his victory. They got what they wanted, Blatter walked, but now UEFA is in a worse position than ever. 

Simply put, Blatter had the overwhelming support of the world football community. He might not be popular in Europe or the U.S, but the man has been promoting football throughout the world for decades and he has built a lot of goodwill during his term as Fifa president. Now he's out because the U.S decided to launch a corruption probe just 2 days before the Fifa election. To say that left a bad taste in everyone's mouth is an understatement. 

I can say right now there are a lot of people in world football angry at the actions of UEFA and they will not take this laying down. Blatter's resignation was a power-play by UEFA backed by world politics, and it was a bad one because it will hurt UEFA badly in the coming future. Blatter won the election fair and square, and UEFA reacted like a bunch of crybabies.  

I have read that it would be four months before any new Fifa election. A lot can happen in four months but I can safely say this; any candidate endorsed by UEFA will NOT win. In fact, an endorsement by UEFA will be the kiss of death. 

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