Post by cjeagle on Jun 2, 2011 0:45:05 GMT 8
Blatter re-elected as FIFA president
June 1, 2011
FIFA has voted Sepp Blatter to remain as president for a fourth term after he ran unopposed on Wednesday and won 186 of the 203 votes.
The voting FIFA member nations had the option of either choosing Blatter, or abstaining, after Mohamed bin Hammam pulled out of the presidential race amid the allegations of bribery and corruption that have rocked world football's governing body.
Blatter, who has been at the helm for 13 years, avoided having to delay the election after the FIFA Congress voted against postponing it by a margin of 172 votes to 17, with 17 abstaining.
In his victory speech, Blatter told the FIFA Congress in Zurich: ''I thank you for your trust and confidence from the bottom of my heart and together we will have four more years - provided the Lord gives me the life, the energy and the strength to continue on our path.
''I'm happy today we were once again able to bring solidarity and unity into FIFA. We shall move forward, we will put FIFA's ship back on the right course in clear, transparent waters. We need some time, we cannot do it overnight, but we will do it.
''I am deeply moved, I am honoured and I thank you. This is a new challenge and I accept it.''
Earlier, Blatter vowed to learn from the "public anger" that has arisen from the FIFA crisis.
"We have been hit and I personally have been slapped," he said. "We have made mistakes and we will learn from this. I can say to a certain extent that this is a good warning, not just to look into our problems, and I am willing to face the public anger in order to serve football.
"I am the captain weathering the storm. This is a difficult period for FIFA and I admit that readily. Not only is the pyramid shaking but our ship has drawn some water. We must do something because I do not want ever again that we face this undignified situation.
June 1, 2011
FIFA has voted Sepp Blatter to remain as president for a fourth term after he ran unopposed on Wednesday and won 186 of the 203 votes.
The voting FIFA member nations had the option of either choosing Blatter, or abstaining, after Mohamed bin Hammam pulled out of the presidential race amid the allegations of bribery and corruption that have rocked world football's governing body.
Blatter, who has been at the helm for 13 years, avoided having to delay the election after the FIFA Congress voted against postponing it by a margin of 172 votes to 17, with 17 abstaining.
In his victory speech, Blatter told the FIFA Congress in Zurich: ''I thank you for your trust and confidence from the bottom of my heart and together we will have four more years - provided the Lord gives me the life, the energy and the strength to continue on our path.
''I'm happy today we were once again able to bring solidarity and unity into FIFA. We shall move forward, we will put FIFA's ship back on the right course in clear, transparent waters. We need some time, we cannot do it overnight, but we will do it.
''I am deeply moved, I am honoured and I thank you. This is a new challenge and I accept it.''
Earlier, Blatter vowed to learn from the "public anger" that has arisen from the FIFA crisis.
"We have been hit and I personally have been slapped," he said. "We have made mistakes and we will learn from this. I can say to a certain extent that this is a good warning, not just to look into our problems, and I am willing to face the public anger in order to serve football.
"I am the captain weathering the storm. This is a difficult period for FIFA and I admit that readily. Not only is the pyramid shaking but our ship has drawn some water. We must do something because I do not want ever again that we face this undignified situation.