The fall of Blatter’s House of Cards

The FIFA fallout is having reverberations all around the world – most notably in Brazil, where The Guardian reports that “the fall of the Blatter empire has unleashed a glorious turmoil that has set football legends against the kleptocrats who have long run the game.”

There are demands for the resignation of the current Brazil Football Confederation president, and some professional players are demanding major reform.

Perhaps the ghost of 1982 captain Sócrates (left), who promoted democracy on and off the field, is stalking the corridors of power. Says The Guardian:

Brazilian football has always had two very different sides, both of which have shaped the game at an international level. On the pitch, the seleçao – comprised mostly of players from poor communities – has won more World Cups than any other. Off the pitch, its executives – most of whom are from the country’s white elite – created a system of patronage and kickbacks that became the global model during the long reign of Blatter’s Brazilian predecessor, João Havelange, as Fifa president. 

Former national striker Romário, now a senator, launched a congressional inquiry into corruption in the sport in Brazil. “The resignation of Joseph Blatter as president of Fifa is the beginning of a new era for world football. All corrupt managers of the confederations, around the world, will feel his fall like a tsunami,” he said. 

Commentator Marília Ruiz said the impact of Blatter’s resignation was gigantic. “It’s like a house of cards, you take one and the others fall,” she said. “This debate isn’t going to die away. The police investigation has been open for years but this is a new chance. There have already been so many windows of opportunity lost, but this is the biggest. The gates have now been thrown open.” 

...Common Sense FC – a group of more than a thousand players who are calling for more transparency and accountability – say the crisis is an opportunity to tackle a host of problems facing football in Brazil, including poor attendances, huge levels of debt at most clubs and an irrational calendar of matches that leaves thousands of professional players unemployed for most of the year while the CBF and regional federations milk TV and sponsorship rights for millions.

“There are urgent measures of democratisation and transparency,” said Paulo André, the founder of Common Sense.

Others are more sceptical. “Endemic corruption in football won’t be resolved overnight, just with the mere resignation of Sepp Blatter. The entire structure that supports it is still in place,” said Alexandre Addor.

And regardless of what happens in the backroom and upper echelons, to many perhaps the only thing that counts is what happens on the field. Says Ruiz: “nothing could be worse than the 7-1” – referring to Brazil’s humiliating defeat to Germany in last year’s WC semi-final.

He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. - Luke 1:52