FIFA President Sepp Blatter Re-Elected For Fifth Term as World Football Boss

When they talk about the cat that has nine lives, you should look no further than Joseph ‘Sepp’ Blatter, the current and future boss of world football’s governing body FIFA.

Everyone has been talking about the scandal that rocked FIFA this week, but everyone forgets Blatter has been battling corruption allegations ever since he became the one in charge.

In the midst of all these, he still managed to win his re-election bid for a fifth term in charge. The Swiss beat Jordanian candidate Prince Ali bin al-Hussein in the elections held in Zurich this afternoon.

He polled 133 votes, to 73 for the Jordanian prince. A candidate requires two-thirds of the first round vote to win the election, which Blatter fell 5 votes short of. However, with the second round a simple majority vote, Prince Ali conceded defeat before the votes could be cast.

So despite 14 of FIFA’s head honchos indicted within the week, and in serious danger of jail time, Blatter not only escaped interdiction, he managed to hold on to win the elections. It’s almost admirable the level of tenacity on display from the 79 year old.

He has the mandate, but that could end anytime soon, especially if investigators can make some of the charges stick to him. Only time would tell.