Blatter fails to win first round of FIFA presidential vote
Voting in the Fifa presidential election has gone to a second round.
Blatter remains poised for re-election to a fifth term as FIFA president however after winning the first round of voting by 133 to 73 against Prince Ali.
The election meant Ali passed the mark votes needed to deny Blatter a two-thirds majority and victory in the first round – but his level of support meant the 79-year incumbent appears headed for another four years in office.
The election comes only two days after US officials charged 14 people - including nine senior Fifa officials – with corrupting world football for decades in a US$150m scheme to line their pockets.
Mr Blatter was not among those charged but has promised to clean up “the storm”.
Mr Blatter said today that “we don’t need revolutions but we always need evolution”.
He is strongly favoured to win. In 2011, when Mr Blatter was the only candidate, he got 186 of the 203 valid votes cast.
