Football: Fifa boss Sepp Blatter visits-“Football is my life” |29 December 2011
Community Development, Youth and Sports Minister Vincent Meriton, Seychelles Football Federation chairman Suketu Patel and vice-chairman Roch Henriette welcomed Mr Blatter, who is on his second visit here – 10 years after his inaugural trip in 2001 when Seychelles hosted the African under-17 championship.
In his 36th year with Fifa, Blatter, who was first elected president of the international football body on June 8, 1998, succeeding Dr João Havelange of Brazil as the eighth Fifa boss, said football is his life.
“Football is my life,” said Mr Blatter. “It connects people. It brings emotions and brings hope that tomorrow will be better.”
To illustrate the idea of hope, the Fifa supremo gave the example of Iraq where league football was played even when there was civil war in the country and the Iraqi national team, despite not being able to play at home, winning the Asian championship four years ago by beating Saudi Arabia in the final.
He also talked about Libya qualifying for next year’s African Nations Cup despite the war situation in the country and having to play all their matches away from home.
Asked how he has been able to cope with the allegations of corruption just before his re-election as Fifa president in June, and the racism problems in the English Premier League, Mr Blatter replied: “Football is no longer just a game. It has become part of society with more than 300 million people involved directly or indirectly.
“It is therefore not easy to handle all the people. You can control people on the field because there are boundaries, officials in charge, time limit and rules to guide the game. It’s difficult to control people who aren’t on the field. And whatever they do wrong, people say it’s Fifa that is responsible.
“Many people also forget the kind of development Fifa has helped brought about. They only speak about bribery, lack of transparency and a lot more. But these things exist in any society.”
Mr Blatter added: “Speaking of transparency, I’m happy to be here with my good friend Mr Patel who, during the 1999 congress in Los Angeles (USA), proposed that Fifa uses the international financing standard to present its financial statement and this is just what we have been doing since. When I took over as Fifa president, the organisation had a US $11 million deficit and today, it has reserves of US $1.2 billion. It’s quite something we have achieved, but people don’t speak about. It is with this money that Fifa runs its different programmes – Football for Health and Football for Hope.”
The Fifa president admits that 2011 has been a tough year but at the same time it has helped him realise his popularity among the Fifa members.
“Yes, it (2011) has been a very tough year, but a good year too for me. When many said I should not be re-elected Fifa president in June, I won 186 of the 203 votes cast and this represents 92% of the votes. By giving me another mandate, it shows that the people have trust and confidence in me and want me to help football develop and play an important part in society,” added the 75-year-old.
On the issue of goal-line technology to help officials in their duties and reduce high-profile incidents, Mr Blatter said Fifa has been doing tests for the past three years.
“We cannot afford to see the same mistake like at the last World Cup in South Africa when except the officials everyone saw that the ball had crossed the goal-line by almost a metre during the England – Germany clash which the former lost. This is not good for football. We have decided that if there is a goal-line technology which is accurate, affordable and not too complicated, let’s have it. The final decision will be taken by the International Football Association Board,” he said.
Mr Blatter noted that the fans decide what is football and introducing camera will stop the spontaneity of the game.
“In 125 years the laws of the game have practically not changed and everyone, including children, knows the basic rules of the game,” he added.
The Swiss said he is happy to learn that Seychelles has made good use of the four Goal Projects financed by Fifa and the joy the Seychelles team brought the nation on winning the gold medal at the 8th Indian Ocean Island Games.
G. G.