Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter has turned 90. Football analyst, FIFA expert, economist and football development consultant Alisher Aminov congratulated the Swiss football official on the occasion of his 90th birthday and highlighted his contribution to the global development of the game.
“Today Sepp Blatter turns 90. He is a Swiss sports administrator, the eighth president of FIFA, and a man who devoted his life to the world’s most popular sport. Seventeen of those ninety years were spent leading FIFA, from 1998 to 2015.
Today, Blatter’s name is often associated with corruption in world football, although his personal involvement in any of those episodes has never been proven. A powerful media narrative turned him into a symbol of global corruption. Unfortunately, modern society often remembers people not for what they created, but for the controversies surrounding them. And yet, if we look at his record, few people have done as much for football as Blatter.
FIFA removed him from football-related activity over a payment of two million euros that was simply not documented properly, even though taxes on it were paid. Blatter was heavily criticised because his daily allowance was 500 euros and the apartment he rented cost about 1,000 euros per week. But one must also understand the environment in which modern football operates.
Blatter himself once said: ‘This is business, and business is always an unfair game. Business is built on supply and demand. And if football is already inside that system, it cannot go against those rules. Yes, I created a monster, I had to, but that monster played by the rules of business. I have a degree in economics, but I could not stop it, because it all comes down to supply and demand. It is sad, but it is a fact. Football has two billion followers around the world. There is no country, religion or system that unites two billion people. Football does.’
Blatter did a great deal to expand football across the globe and strengthen its popularity. It was under his leadership that the world came to realise that, alongside traditional football, there are many other forms of the game that also deserve attention and appreciation.
Another important part of Blatter’s legacy is that, despite the growing influence of progress and commercialisation, football for a long time remained the same game our fathers and grandfathers once knew.
We met several times in Switzerland, and the last time we had lunch together was in Zurich in 2019, shortly before I left the country. He was open with me and shared many interesting stories about his life and about modern football. The breadth of his personality, his versatility and his deep understanding of life made a strong impression on me. In many ways, he is also a philosopher. His personal life has not been simple and has been full of challenges and experience.
Happy anniversary, Dr Sepp. I wish you good health and happiness with your family.”