Africa, the confederation with the most member associations (54), is under-represented at the World Cup and may never win an international trophy, FIFA president, Sepp Blatter said in the football governing body’s new weekly magazine.
According to a BBC report, the World football president, who has been in power since 1998, criticized Europe’s overwhelming presence in relation to its lesser number of member associations.
Europe currently provides 13 of the 32 teams at the finals, compared with five from Africa and four from Asia.
While reiterating his stance, Blatter said the “flawed state of affairs must be rectified.”
“From a purely sporting perspective, I would like to see globalisation finally taken seriously and the African and Asian national associations accorded the status they deserve at the FIFA World Cup,” the 77 year old said.
According to him, European and South American confederations can’t lay claim to the majority of the berths at the World Cup (18 or 19 teams) because taken together “they account for significantly fewer member associations than Africa, which has 63 and Asia 100.”
“At the end of the day an equal chance for all is the paramount imperative of elite sport,” he said.
Blatters recent outburst has garnered mixed reactions from football lovers all over the world.
Cynically responding, Spanish football journalist Begona Perez, “it was the beginning of a bid to sound out support for another tilt at the presidency.”
“He might be thinking he needs his African friends to run for a new presidential election. He’s trying to be nice to people he needs for a vote” she told CNN World Sport. “I think that’s Blatter being Blatter. Every time he makes a statement there are second thoughts.”
While former France international Michel Platini, widely regarded as the most likely successor to the Swiss in the FIFA job, said he agrees with Mr Blatter that “we need more African and Asian teams.”
Commenting on the issue, Jose Mourinho, a world renowned coach, sat on the fence.
According to him, Blatter’s idea wasn’t bad, but “it could be a backward step” in World football.
