Sepp Blatter elected for fifth term as FIFA president

“Trust and confidence, together we go.”

So began the fifth term of a man who has solidified himself as the most reviled figure in the world’s most popular sport. Sepp Blatter saw off his only challenger, Prince Ali Bin al-Hussein of Jordan, in the FIFA presidential election held Friday in Switzerland by a healthy margin.

Blatter, 79, promised to restore faith in an organization that has seen its reputation tarnished under his leadership. The most recent – and undoubtedly most severe – challenge to his legacy came with the arrest earlier this week of seven current and former FIFA executives charged by the United States with a range of crimes including fraud and bribery. Despite such turmoil, the Swiss appeared overwhelmed by his re-election and happily delivered his victory speech.

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“For the next four years I will be in command of this boat called Fifa and we will bring it back ashore, we will bring it back to the beach,” Blatter said to his collected supporters. In all, he collected 133 of the 209 votes available from within world football’s governing body.

After the disastrous events of the past two days, such a strong show of support came off as surprising for many. Blatter had lost the confidence of several important leaders in the sport. Most members of European football’s representative association UEFA, arguably the most important in FIFA’s framework, had called for Blatter’s resignation.

“The events of this week are so traumatic for Fifa that I cannot see Fifa reforming itself under Blatter. He’s had years to reform it and he hasn’t done it,” said Michel Platini, president of UEFA, after the election. He was not alone in his sentiments. Greg Dyke, chairman of England’s Football Association, even went so far as to threaten to boycott the World Cup.

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In truth, though, Blatter’s re-election felt like foregone conclusion. The votes Prince Ali did get were enough to force a second round of voting; that he declined to proceed suggests he might have finally become resigned to just how secure Blatter has become in a position he’s held for the last 17 years. The fact is that Blatter and his cohorts have succeeded in making football somehow even more popular and profitable worldwide than it was before his presidency began. Even if a fair amount of that progress was made on the back of some severely corrupt practices, that doesn’t change the fact that there’s more money and prestige in the game now than ever before. Though he likely won’t be remembered for it, that is how he is seen by most of those participating in Friday’s vote. Ironically, that football has grown to such an extent to attract the attention of the famously football-indifferent Americans suggests just how successful Blatter’s reign has been.

It’s difficult to speculate where exactly the sport goes from here. It’s clear that even if Blatter has the votes he’s lost a tremendous amount of credibility. Already mocked before this most recent scandal, it’s very unlikely he’ll find a way to endear himself to football’s masses with what years he has left. Men like Prince Ali and Platini have sway within the sport and could conceivably force Blatter to make concessions on key points, but it’s unlikely that it will resemble anything close to the reform most fans demand.