FIFA president Sepp Blatter said Friday he is campaigning for
reelection based on his 40 years in football’s governing body and he
would not release a manifesto.
The 79-year-old Swiss officials
faces three challengers in an election to be held on May 28-29 at a
congress in Zurich. While favourite to win, Blatter refused to say what
he would do if
FIFA Boss
returned for a fifth term.
“My
manifesto is the work I have done in the last years at FIFA. I am now
40 years in FIFA. I am 17 years the president of FIFA, this is my
manifesto,” he told a press conference.
Pressed about his
intentions, the FIFA leader said: “I am the FIFA president until May 29,
until the last item on the Congress agenda, which is called the
election of the president.
“I have been asked by national
associations in all the six confederations to be a candidate, they put
me as a candidate. But I am still the FIFA president, I am not
campaigning. I am doing my job as FIFA president and I will do until the
last day of my mandate.”
Blatter has turned down offers of a
televised debate with his rivals, Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein, a FIFA
vice-president from Jordan, Dutch football federation president Michael
van Praag and former Portugal international Luis Figo.
But all four will speak at the UEFA European confederation congress in Vienna on Monday and Tuesday.
Blatter’s
rivals say that FIFA needs a radical change of direction following
multiple controversies over the awarding of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar.
The
FIFA president has said he needs a fifth term to “finish my mission” at
the world body which on Friday announced revenues over the past year of
$5.7 billion and a cash reserve of $1.52 billion.