FIFA President Sepp Blatter’s bid for a fifth term "was dealt a knock when the CONMEBOL Congress failed to endorse his ambitions," according to WORLD FOOTBALL INSIDER. Despite reports from Paraguay on Tuesday suggesting the congress would formally announce its support for the Swiss, a motion "was not put to delegates meeting near the capital Asuncion." Blatter "appears to have walked away from the congress uncertain" of how many of the 10 South America FAs he can count on for their votes at the May 29 FIFA presidential election (WORLD FOOTBALL INSIDER, 3/5). ESPN's Gabriele Marcotti wrote Blatter "had hoped to emerge" with the new generation of CONMEBOL leaders squarely behind him, just like the predecessors. That "never happened." The question "is why?" Is it because South America, after decades of loyal support, "is turning its back on the FIFA president?" Is it because the three candidates standing against Blatter -- Jordan's Prince Ali, the Netherlands' Michael van Praag and Portugal's Luis Figo -- who were also campaigning heavily at the congress, "managed to shift support away from the incumbent?" Or "is there something else?" In the world of FIFA politics, it is "tough to tell." The official explanation is that "they simply never got around to voting." The motion "was never put forward." Was it because Blatter's CONMEBOL backers knew it would not pass, "as his opponents suggest?" Or "was it because they were busy deliberating other important matters, as his camp insists?" Make "up your own mind." Either way, it is "significant" that they "did not make it a priority to throw their support 100 percent behind the FIFA president" (ESPN, 3/5).
TOUGHER SANCTIONS: BLOOMBERG's Duff & Panja wrote Blatter said that "he wants clubs with racist fans to be docked points or be relegated, three days after a black player in Peru walked off the field amid persistent abuse." Blatter said that "lighter sanctions such as fines or the partial closure of stadiums" are not working as a deterrent. Blatter: "The rules we have, we don’t apply them in all the parts of the world. The time has come to dock points or relegate teams" (BLOOMBERG, 3/4).
REPORTING A PROFIT: The AP reported CONMEBOL Treasurer Carlos Chávez announced the body posted a profit in '14 of $6M. Chávez indicated that TV and advertising revenue from the Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana totaled $85M, while hosting those events cost $75M. CONMEBOL's budget for '15 estimates revenue of $194M, including $80M generated by this summer's Copa América in Chile (AP, 3/5).
