Blatter Looks Certain for Fourth Term After UEFA Backing

FIFA President Sepp Blatter’s bid to stay on as the head of world soccer’s governing body received a huge boost after UEFA’s executive committee announced it would offer the incumbent chief its “unanimous support” in the June 1 election.

Blatter faces the challenge of Mohamed Bin Hammam as he seeks a fourth term as president and was thought to be leading the way even before UEFA confirmed its support for the Swiss as the body also urged its 53 member associations to back the 75-year-old.

A statement from UEFA read: “The UEFA executive committee has decided to give its unanimous support to Mr Joseph S Blatter in the upcoming FIFA presidential elections and strongly recommends all UEFA member associations to do likewise.”

Michel Platini, who served as one of Blatter’s key aides before becoming UEFA president in 2007, is expected to challenge for the FIFA presidency in 2015 with Blatter having insisted that he is seeking his final term at the helm. This pledge is thought to have encouraged Platini as Bin Hammam, if elected, would have been highly likely to have run for a second term in charge.

UEFA will represent 53 of the 208 votes and Blatter is also confident of winning the support of CONCACAF, which has indicated that it will vote as a bloc. Blatter is also guaranteed of the support of South America and Oceania, which will provide 10 and 11 votes, respectively.

Russian Football Union president Vitaly Mutko has additionally announced that the host country of the 2018 World Cup will support Blatter, stating: “We appreciate everything Blatter has done for world and Russian football.”