Sepp Blatter won the FIFA presidential election easily on Friday, taking 133 votes of the 209 possible votes in the first round of voting. His challenger, Prince Ali bin Al-Hussein of Jordan, technically had enough votes to force a second round of voting, but he withdrew.
It was never really in doubt. Despite a seemingly strong opponent in Ali bin Al-Hussein, oddsmakers had Blatter as a 1-to-10 favorite before the election. He was never losing this.
Here’s why:
Blatter had control of too many countries
The FIFA presidential elections don’t work like the United States elections do, where states with larger populations get more votes in the electoral congress. No, every association gets one vote, no matter its size. So Germany, a country with over six million soccer players, has as much say in the election as Micronesia, which has a TOTAL population of just over 100,000 people.
That’s why Blatter didn’t care much when he lost the United States’ vote to Prince Ali bin Hussein, his main challenger. Blatter could just use the vote of a country like Saint Kitts and Nevis to cancel it out.
Reuters
Blatter had control of those countries by the way FIFA distributes funds
Every country, all 209 of them, have an equal vote in FIFA’s congress. They also get equal distribution of funds from FIFA.
No matter how many people play soccer in a nation, they will get the same amount of money from FIFA. Again, to use Germany and its six million soccer players as an example, a funding from FIFA of, say, $3 million would equal 50 cents per player.
If you’re Equitorial Guinea, on the other hand, whose entire nation’s population is a bit over 700,000 people, that $3 million goes a lot farther. (Like any of it makes its way to the actual players, but still.)
FIFA president Sepp Blatter (Getty)
Until his name is on an indictment, he will continue to operate as usual
Many people thought that with the arrests and indictments handed down this week, FIFA would suspend the elections, or at least postpone them. When the European block of associations, UEFA, demanded the postponement, people said Blatter was in trouble. When UEFA head Michel Platini demanded he stepped down, people wondered if now was the time.
It didn’t happen. It never happens. Blatter has faced accusations before. He’s been challenged before.
He knows the way to keep moving, and that is always forward. He was never postponing these elections, because he knew he was going to win. And that’s exactly what he did.
