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| FIFA Sets Feb. 26 as Date for Election to Replace Sepp Blatter | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Top officials of FIFA, world soccer’s governing body, on Monday set a date of Feb. 26, 2016, for a special election to choose a successor to the organization’s embattled president, Sepp Blatter. | Top officials of FIFA, world soccer’s governing body, on Monday set a date of Feb. 26, 2016, for a special election to choose a successor to the organization’s embattled president, Sepp Blatter. |
| The body’s executive committee, during a meeting in Zurich, also announced the creation of a reform task force to discuss ways to overhaul the organization and to restore its battered image after FIFA was ensnared in the worst corruption scandal in its history. But officials first set a date for an election to replace Mr. Blatter, who despite speculation that he will try to find a way to maintain his position has repeatedly and consistently said that he will not enter the race. He reiterated that stance Monday. | The body’s executive committee, during a meeting in Zurich, also announced the creation of a reform task force to discuss ways to overhaul the organization and to restore its battered image after FIFA was ensnared in the worst corruption scandal in its history. But officials first set a date for an election to replace Mr. Blatter, who despite speculation that he will try to find a way to maintain his position has repeatedly and consistently said that he will not enter the race. He reiterated that stance Monday. |
| “I will not be a candidate for the election in 2016,” he said. “There will be a new president.” | “I will not be a candidate for the election in 2016,” he said. “There will be a new president.” |
| Mr. Blatter’s opponents had pushed for an earlier election — Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan, who lost to Mr. Blatter in the presidential election held in May, told The Associated Press on Monday that Mr. Blatter “must leave now” — but the president’s desire for a later date won out. | Mr. Blatter’s opponents had pushed for an earlier election — Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan, who lost to Mr. Blatter in the presidential election held in May, told The Associated Press on Monday that Mr. Blatter “must leave now” — but the president’s desire for a later date won out. |
| The delay was a victory for Blatter, who will now be positioned to oversee both the campaign and any reform proposals. He held court alone Monday during a 40-minute news conference at FIFA headquarters, alternately dismissing unwelcome questions — and at one point an interloper who showered him with dollar bills — at the same time he joked with reporters and used folksy soccer analogies to make his points. | |
| Mr. Blatter refused to answer questions about the investigations being pursued by American and Swiss authorities, however, and made clear that he was still running the organization. | |
| “I am still the president,” he said at one point. “My mission is to make sure that at the end of February, when I come to the end of my career, that FIFA will have started again these reforms and to rebuild the reputation of FIFA. This is important to me.” | “I am still the president,” he said at one point. “My mission is to make sure that at the end of February, when I come to the end of my career, that FIFA will have started again these reforms and to rebuild the reputation of FIFA. This is important to me.” |
| It is unclear how far-reaching the reforms will be. Among the proposals are more transparency on executive salaries (Mr. Blatter declined two questions Monday asking him to reveal his); the introduction of term limits for the FIFA president and for executive members (Mr. Blatter just began his fifth term); and stricter governance standards at all levels of soccer. | |
| But the so-called “neutral” chairman of the reform task force will be appointed “in consultation” with the presidents of FIFA’s confederations, FIFA said, and new “enhanced” integrity checks will be carried out by the organization’s own ethics committee, Mr. Blatter said. | |
| “There was nothing new today,” said Alexandra Wrage, a governance consultant who once unsuccessfully attempted to help overhaul FIFA’s methods. “FIFA is repackaging old ideas that they rejected or watered down previously and they’re asking us to believe they’re behind them this time. Perhaps they are, but it will take more than another grand announcement to dupe the public again.” | |
| Even Mr. Blatter acknowledged that a reform initiative undertaken in 2011, after a previous corruption scandal, had not changed the culture of FIFA. But he deflected personal responsibility for the scandal that led to his decision to step down. | Even Mr. Blatter acknowledged that a reform initiative undertaken in 2011, after a previous corruption scandal, had not changed the culture of FIFA. But he deflected personal responsibility for the scandal that led to his decision to step down. |
| “I cannot be declared responsible for the moral comportment of members I have not elected and have no power to elect,” he said. | “I cannot be declared responsible for the moral comportment of members I have not elected and have no power to elect,” he said. |
| Now that a date for the election has been set, the field of candidates will begin to take shape. Prince Ali, in his statement Monday, offered no indication whether he would run again; he lost his seat on the executive committee in June but remains president of Jordan’s soccer association. | Now that a date for the election has been set, the field of candidates will begin to take shape. Prince Ali, in his statement Monday, offered no indication whether he would run again; he lost his seat on the executive committee in June but remains president of Jordan’s soccer association. |
| The leading contender could be Michel Platini of France, the longtime head of Europe’s soccer association, UEFA. Mr. Platini’s experience on the executive committee, his résumé as a player and his connections in world soccer would seem to give him an edge. But despite appeals, Mr. Platini, 60, has not expressed an interest in running for the job, and his ties to Qatar, and its controversial bid to host the 2022 World Cup, could put off supporters eager for reform inside FIFA. | The leading contender could be Michel Platini of France, the longtime head of Europe’s soccer association, UEFA. Mr. Platini’s experience on the executive committee, his résumé as a player and his connections in world soccer would seem to give him an edge. But despite appeals, Mr. Platini, 60, has not expressed an interest in running for the job, and his ties to Qatar, and its controversial bid to host the 2022 World Cup, could put off supporters eager for reform inside FIFA. |
| Candidates have until Oct. 26 to be nominated. The new president will be elected in a vote of FIFA’s 209 member associations, the same federations that re-elected Mr. Blatter less than two months ago. | Candidates have until Oct. 26 to be nominated. The new president will be elected in a vote of FIFA’s 209 member associations, the same federations that re-elected Mr. Blatter less than two months ago. |
| The executive committee meeting Monday represented the highest-profile gathering of the sport’s top officials since Mr. Blatter, who has led the organization for 17 years, said in June that he would resign as law enforcement officials in the United States confirmed that he was a focus of a federal corruption investigation. | The executive committee meeting Monday represented the highest-profile gathering of the sport’s top officials since Mr. Blatter, who has led the organization for 17 years, said in June that he would resign as law enforcement officials in the United States confirmed that he was a focus of a federal corruption investigation. |
| In May, the Swiss authorities arrested seven FIFA officials at a five-star hotel in Zurich in response to a sweeping corruption investigation by American authorities. The Justice Department indicted 14 current and former soccer officials and marketing executives, but not Mr. Blatter, contending that the officials and executives had corrupted the sport with murky deals and $150 million in bribes. | In May, the Swiss authorities arrested seven FIFA officials at a five-star hotel in Zurich in response to a sweeping corruption investigation by American authorities. The Justice Department indicted 14 current and former soccer officials and marketing executives, but not Mr. Blatter, contending that the officials and executives had corrupted the sport with murky deals and $150 million in bribes. |
| FIFA officials had sought to present the meeting as a seminal moment showing that the organization was willing to shake up a culture that investigators say is mired in corruption and cronyism. But the low regard for FIFA was on display again Monday, when a heckler interrupted the start of Mr. Blatter’s news conference to shower him with bank notes. | FIFA officials had sought to present the meeting as a seminal moment showing that the organization was willing to shake up a culture that investigators say is mired in corruption and cronyism. But the low regard for FIFA was on display again Monday, when a heckler interrupted the start of Mr. Blatter’s news conference to shower him with bank notes. |
| It remains to be seen whether the reform proposals will be enough to mollify critics. | It remains to be seen whether the reform proposals will be enough to mollify critics. |
| Coca-Cola, a major FIFA sponsor, has called for an independent commission overseen by an impartial leader to supervise the changes, and Kofi Annan, the former United Nations secretary general, has been mentioned as a possible candidate. (A spokesman for Annan told the BBC on Monday that he was not interested in the post.) | Coca-Cola, a major FIFA sponsor, has called for an independent commission overseen by an impartial leader to supervise the changes, and Kofi Annan, the former United Nations secretary general, has been mentioned as a possible candidate. (A spokesman for Annan told the BBC on Monday that he was not interested in the post.) |
| McDonald’s, which has sponsored the World Cup for more than two decades, demanded Friday that FIFA make “meaningful changes.” | McDonald’s, which has sponsored the World Cup for more than two decades, demanded Friday that FIFA make “meaningful changes.” |
| “We are not satisfied with FIFA’s current handling of the recent incidents,” the company added. | “We are not satisfied with FIFA’s current handling of the recent incidents,” the company added. |
| As FIFA seeks to revamp its battered image, the inquiry into corruption continues to reverberate. Jeffrey Webb, a former FIFA official from the Cayman Islands who was the first figure to be extradited to the United States after the scandal, pleaded not guilty Saturday at an arraignment in United States District Court in Brooklyn to charges that he had solicited bribes in return for offering lucrative media and marketing deals. | As FIFA seeks to revamp its battered image, the inquiry into corruption continues to reverberate. Jeffrey Webb, a former FIFA official from the Cayman Islands who was the first figure to be extradited to the United States after the scandal, pleaded not guilty Saturday at an arraignment in United States District Court in Brooklyn to charges that he had solicited bribes in return for offering lucrative media and marketing deals. |
| The arrests have reshaped FIFA’s executive committee. Mr. Webb lost his seat when he was dismissed as the president of Concacaf, the regional confederation governing North and Central America and the Caribbean, a day after his indictment. At Mr. Webb’s plea hearing Saturday, a judge barred him from associating with international soccer officials. | The arrests have reshaped FIFA’s executive committee. Mr. Webb lost his seat when he was dismissed as the president of Concacaf, the regional confederation governing North and Central America and the Caribbean, a day after his indictment. At Mr. Webb’s plea hearing Saturday, a judge barred him from associating with international soccer officials. |
| Another of the men arrested in the hotel raid, Eduardo Li of Costa Rica, was set to join the executive committee at the FIFA Congress in May, but he instead remains in a Swiss prison on corruption charges. And last week, the president of Brazil’s soccer federation, Marco Polo Del Nero, announced that he would not attend the meeting in Zurich and instead remain in Brazil to deal with what the news media reported were “local matters.” | Another of the men arrested in the hotel raid, Eduardo Li of Costa Rica, was set to join the executive committee at the FIFA Congress in May, but he instead remains in a Swiss prison on corruption charges. And last week, the president of Brazil’s soccer federation, Marco Polo Del Nero, announced that he would not attend the meeting in Zurich and instead remain in Brazil to deal with what the news media reported were “local matters.” |
| Mr. Del Nero replaced José Maria Marin as president of Brazil’s federation; Mr. Marin, too, has been in jail in Switzerland since May. | Mr. Del Nero replaced José Maria Marin as president of Brazil’s federation; Mr. Marin, too, has been in jail in Switzerland since May. |