Sepp Blatter vows he will quit Fifa after Russia World Cup after being re-elected as president

Swiss indicates he will stand aside after conclusion of four-year term

Simon Rice
Friday 29 May 2015 18:47 BST
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Sepp Blatter celebrates victory in the Fifa presidency vote
Sepp Blatter celebrates victory in the Fifa presidency vote (GETTY IMAGES)

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Sepp Blatter has said he will stand aside at the end of his later four-year term as Fifa president, insisting "I will give Fifa to my successor".

The controversial Swiss won a fifth term after winning the first vote by 133 to 73. It was not enough to win outright, with a two-thirds majority needed, but before a second vote could be held his only challenger, Prince Ali bin al-Hussein, conceded.

In his acceptance speech, Blatter made the vow that this will be his final term and promised to get Fifa "back to shore" amid the latest allegations of corruption.

"I thank you, you have accepted me for the next four years. I will be in command of this boat of Fifa. We will bring it back off shore,” he said after taking to the stage to a few boos but mostly cheers.

He continued: "We need in this committee women. We need ladies.

"But I thank you for accepting me for the next four years. I will be in command of this boat called Fifa and we will bring it back to shore. We won’t touch the World Cup. I am a faithful man, God, Allah, whoever, they will help us to bring back this Fifa"

He then indicated that he will step down in 2019, a year after the World Cup in Russia.

"At the end of my (four year) term, I will give Fifa to my successor. It will be robust."

Some may doubt whether Blatter will follow through with that promise, considering he said he would not stand for re-election in this latest vote, only to change his mind.

He concluded: "I like you. I like my job. I am not perfect. Nobody is perfect. Together we go. Let’s go Fifa! Let’s go Fifa!"

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