Blatter gets ‘solid’ African support

African countries have vowed to vote overwhelmingly for Sepp
Blatter in this year’s Fifa elections
“Africa is solidly behind Blatter.,” said Kwesi Nyantakyi, the
president of the Ghana FA.
Nyantakyi, who is also a Confederation of African Football
executive committee member added: “You will find he is very
popular on the continent.”
On 29 May, Blatter will seek a fifth term as president that will
take him past his 80th birthday.
Dutch football association president Michael van Praag
announced on Tuesday his intention to run following similar
moves by former Fifa deputy secretary general Jerome
Champagne and Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein of Jordan.
Former France international David Ginola has also announced
his intention to stand but his is widely regarded as being no
more than a publicity stunt.
But Blatter’s prospective opponents are likely to get little
support from the 53 African voters.
“The continent is united behind him,” added former South
African FA president Molefi Oliphant, who still serves on the
Caf executive.
“We made a formal endorsement of his candidacy last year at
our meeting in Rio de Janeiro already.”
Previous endorsements from Caf, however, have not
necessarily translated into votes.
African football’s controlling body promised Lennart
Johansson a block of votes in 1998 but member associations
took no heed and helped Blatter to victory.
In 2002 Caf president Issa Hayatou failed to muster significant
support from his own continent and lost heavily to Blatter.
Affection for Blatter stems from the generous financial
assistance he has given Africa during his 17-year tenure.
“He has done a lot for the continent. It is he who has set up
the financial assistance programmes and who through the
Goal project has built infra structure in all of the countries,”
added Nyantakyi.
“The Europeans don’t understand that. They say it is not his
own money but Fifa’s but that’s not the point.
“He is the one who set up all the assistance programmes that
have helped boost African football.”
Goal is Blatter’s pet project, inaugurated not long after he
came to power in 1998 that has built training centres,
accommodation, pitches and offices for cash-strapped
associations.
Under Fifa’s Financial Assistance Programme, introduced in
2001, each of the ruling body’s 209 member associations
receive generous grants with more than $1 billion paid out
during Blatter’s tenure.
( BBC )