Blatter Chairs Emergency FIFA Meeting As Scandal Grows; CAF Opposes Postponement Of FIFA Congress And Election

Qatar 2022 has faced multiple corruption allegations. (Image source: Business Insider)

FIFA President Sepp Blatter chaired an emergency meeting with representatives from FIFA's six confederations on Thursday following the wave of arrests of football officials including two FIFA vice-presidents in Zurich on Wednesday.

The FIFA emergency committee rarely meets and two of its nominated members Jeffrey Webb, the president of CONCACAF and Eugenio Figueredo of Uruguay, the South American confederation president, were not present as they were among those detained on Wednesday.

A FIFA representative said: "There was a meeting today with the president and the representatives from the confederations to discuss the current situation."

Reuters reports:

The rare meeting of the emergency committee comes one day before FIFA's Congress is due to elect a new president and Blatter, seeking a fifth term of office is resisting calls from European soccer governing body UEFA to postpone the election for six months.

Blatter has also not been seen in public since the latest corruption crisis began early on Wednesday morning.

CAF Opposes Postponement Of FIFA Congress And Election

The Confederation of African Football is opposed to any postponement of Friday's FIFA Congress and presidential election in Zurich and reiterated its support for Sepp Blatter's candidacy, a statement said on Thursday.

CAF said a meeting of its members, held in the Swiss city on Wednesday, continued to back the under fire FIFA president, who is seeking re-election in a two-man race against Jordan's Prince Ali bin Al Hussein on Friday.

Africa's support for the election to go ahead adds to that of Asia but is opposed by UEFA, European football's governing body, who want it postponed.

"CAF is following with particular attention the events that are occurring at this time in the football family," the statement said in a reference to the dramatic arrest in Switzerland on Wednesday of seven FIFA officials on U.S. corruption charges.

"CAF reaffirms its commitment to work and co-operate in safeguarding the ethical and moral values that underlie the practice of the sport, its organization and administration.

"Hence our full and ongoing support behind the package of measures driven by FIFA in recent years to improve governance.

"CAF reaffirms its readiness to cooperate in this matter with all institutions that engage and subscribes to a zero tolerance policy."

CAF president Issa Hayatou and two senior members of the organization's executive committee were named on Wednesday among 10 FIFA executive committee members that Swiss authorities want to question over allegations of vote buying for the next two World Cups in Russia and Qatar.