Dawn arrests and allegations of racketeering and wire fraud. Money-laundering conspiracies that span almost a quarter-of-a-century and whistle-blowers lining up to help the FBI nail the biggests movers and shakers. Just a normal day at FIFA HQ in Zurich nowadays and the scandals keep on coming.
Sepp Blatter may have been re-elected but even the great survivor was forced to throw in the towel last Tuesday in the mount of growing pressure, announcing he will step down before the end of the year and calling for an extraordinary congress to be held “as soon as possible”.
Whether or not Blatter will be present at that congress is another matter. It’s been intimated by former vice-president Jack Warner and fellow executive committee member Chuck Blazer that the FIFA president was more than aware of what was going on in his organization and criminal charges will surely follow if allegations are proven.
The Irish and South African FA have already been drawn into proceedings and it’s been suggested that Russia and Qatar could yet lose their right to host the next two World Cups if evidence emerges that they used bribes to buy votes. It’s a web of corruption that will take years to untangle and require strong leadership – so who are the leading candidates to succeed Blatter?
Prince Ali Al-Hussein stood against Blatter in the recent election but withdrew before the second round of voting. The Jordanian has already announced that he will stand again and he’s a general 5/4 to receive most votes next time. UEFA president Michel Platini is 5/2 with 888sport and Unibet but African delegates, in particular, are thought not to favour a European candidate as they already believe that UEFA wields too much power in world football.
That factor may also count against former Portuguese star Luis Figo (14/1 with Paddy Power and bet365) and current FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke (50/1 with bet365 and Skybet) but South Korean entrepreneur Chung Mong-joon (15/1 with Unibet and 888sport) would have his supporters if deciding to run.
Lord Coe, who masterminded Great Britain’s Olympic bid, thinks that David Gill, England‘s new FIFA executive committee member, would be a good candidate in the future but concedes that he’ll need time to build up support before any bid. Gill, the former chief executive at Manchester United, is 20/1 with Skybet to become the next FIFA president.
