Kuala Lumpur: FIFA president Sepp Blatter dropped a hint he plans to stand again for another four year term as the head of world soccer's governing body during a speech to AFC delegates in Malaysia on Friday. Blatter had said he planned to step down from office at the end of his latest four-year term in 2015 but opened up a loophole in March by adding that was providing he could find someone to carry on his legacy.
The 77-year-old Swiss was talking at the Asian Football Confederation Congress in Kuala Lumpur on Friday, discussing his reform plans when he appeared to let slip he was not going to quit the presidency in two years time. "This will be the last term of, not of office, the last term of the reform," Blatter said, smiling as he delivered the message.
The Swiss then went on to say that this would be the last presidential term of his reform pledges brought in to clean up the scandal hit body that has seen members routinely banned on graft charges. UEFA president Michel Platini, who watched on Thursday as Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa of Bahrain won the AFC presidential election in a landslide, has long been tipped to replace Blatter.
But Blatter used his speech on Friday to take a pop at the power of the Frenchman's European confederation, citing an unfairness in the number of World Cup places that UEFA has. "We have to start to see
10:19 AM, May 03, 2013
London: The bitter fallout from English football's high-profile racism case resurfaced on Friday in front of UEFA President Michel Platini as John Terry refused to shake hands with the man who stripped him of the England captaincy. The snub came at an event in London where European champion Chelsea were handing back the Champions League trophy ahead of next month's final at Wembley Stadium. Terry was sacked as England captain...
11:38 PM, Apr 19, 2013
Nearly half the teams involved in the competition are set to progress to the 24-team finals in France. ...
11:25 PM, Mar 28, 2013
Michel Platini's idea that Qatar share the 2022 World Cup hosting rights with its Middle East neighbours was "crazy", UAE soccer chief Yousuf Al Serkal said. ...
05:58 PM, Mar 07, 2013
"The Champions League has killed off, annihilated other competition because of the huge interest it attracts," the UEFA president said on Saturday. ...
08:25 PM, Mar 02, 2013
Platini voted for Qatar to be awarded the world's top soccer tournament and was also in favour of Russia being awarded the event in 2018. ...
03:41 PM, Mar 02, 2013
The governing body aims to approve tougher sanctions for racist abuse at football matches when its 209 member nations meet in May. ...
08:35 PM, Feb 15, 2013
FIFA's anti-corruption advisers urged Sepp Blatter's executive committee to "demonstrate leadership" and not undermine their efforts. ...
11:12 PM, Feb 08, 2013
UEFA will launch an appeal against all the sanctions imposed by their independent disciplinary on Serbia and England. ...
06:10 PM, Dec 26, 2012
Kuala Lumpur: Even as world body FIFA seems to slowly embrace goal line technology, UEFA chief Michel Platini rejected it insisting it is unnecessary waste of millions of euros. Platini, on a visit to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) house in Kuala Lumpur Tuesday, simply replied "No" when asked if he had changed his mind on the goal line technology, reports Xinhua. He said at a press conference after signing...
03:24 PM, Dec 12, 2012
Kuala Lumpur: UEFA President Michel Platini remains ardently opposed to the use of goal-line technology, which is being employed by FIFA for the first time at the Club World Cup, and said on Tuesday the money would be better spent developing the game. The technology was employed in Thursday's Club World Cup curtain raiser between Sanfrecce Hiroshima and Auckland City in Yokohama as soccer's governing body FIFA finally answered calls...
01:34 PM, Dec 11, 2012
Berlin: European soccer's governing body UEFA is going ahead with a proposal for a Euro 2020 tournament hosted by half a dozen countries and not the usual one or two, Germany's UEFA executive committee member Theo Zwanziger said on Tuesday. Zwanziger, who was formerly head of the German Football Association (DFB), said the plan, still to be ratified by the UEFA executive committee, envisaged 12 countries hosting the expanded tournament...
10:08 AM, Nov 14, 2012
Paris: Serbia could face tough sanctions from UEFA's disciplinary committee after racism again marred a football game in the country last week, president Michel Platini said on Tuesday. England Under-21 defender Danny Rose complained after a Euro qualifier in Serbia last week that he had been racially abused and the British government demanded serious punishment against Serbia. "Over a year ago we gave Croatia and Serbia a serious yellow card,...
10:25 PM, Oct 23, 2012
London: UEFA president Michel Platini is determined to stage the World Cup during the European winter for the first time at the 2022 tournament in Qatar, the Frenchman told the London Evening Standard on Tuesday. The move would require all major European Leagues to take a month-long winter break, including England's Premier League which has no mid-season break at all. "I hope it will be held in winter," he said....
11:04 PM, Sep 25, 2012
With the end of the group stage, Euro 2012 is more than two-thirds complete, with 24 matches played and just seven left, culminating with the July 1 final in Kiev. And, like a regular service on a car, this European Championship has provided a neat opportunity to lift up football's lid, inspect its innards and assess its health. So, in 12 days between co-host Poland's opening 1-1 draw on June...
11:05 AM, Jun 20, 2012
"Messi is the star of stars in world football," UEFA President Michel Platini said. ...
12:31 PM, Feb 17, 2010
UEFA chairman Michel Platini gave an interview to Sky Sports. ...
01:15 AM, Mar 28, 2009
Platini concerned the divide between rich and poor clubs could be bad for the game. ...
03:56 PM, Feb 19, 2009
Platini becomes the first high profile former player to hold such an important position in soccer administration. ...
06:38 PM, Jan 26, 2007
One of the sharpest footballing brains in his time, Platini has already chalked out his priorities for the game. ...
05:46 PM, Jan 19, 2007
