Inside Story

FIFA’s red card

Could Joseph Blatter really be the man to rebuild FIFA’s tainted image?

FIFA’s congress has decided that Sepp Blatter, the incumbent president, will stand for re-election – unopposed.

But the reputation of football’s governing body is at an all time low. Corruption scandals plague the organisation.

Allegations of bribes-for-votes has led to the suspension of Jack Warner, FIFA’s vice president, and Mohammed bin Hammam, Blatter’s only rival for the presidency.

And suggestions that Qatar “bought” the World Cup – accusations they strenuously deny – have led to calls for a full investigation into the 2022 World Cup vote. 

So, could Blatter really be the man to rebuild FIFA’s tainted image? Or does the multi-million dollar corporation need an entire overhaul?

Inside Story, with presenter Jane Dutton, discusses with Mehrdad Masoudi, a producer for the football show Futbol Mundial and former media press officer for the FIFA world cup in 1998; David Owen, the chief columnist for www.insideworldfootball.biz, a website dedicated to football business and politics; and Grant Wall, a senior writer at Sports Illustrated

This episode of Inside Story aired from Wednesday, June 1, 2011.