Exclusive: by Andrew Warshaw in Mauritius
May 29 – The full extent of the split between Europe and the rest of FIFA – and potentially between Sepp Blatter and his possible successor Michel Platini – over the much-touted reform process has been underlined with the revelation that UEFA were officially outvoted over the decision to postpone age and term limits for senior officials for another 12 months.
High-ranking sources have told Insideworldfootball that a ballot was taken at Tuesday’s executive committee meeting and that the result was 16-8 in favour of putting off a decision both on an upper age limit for executive committee members and/or the number of permitted terms of office.
Although there were valid and differing opinions within the executive committee over the correct way forward, all eight votes in favour of dealing straight away with the concept of statute-changing age and term restrictions are understood to have come from FIFA’s European members who were said to be frustrated that no-one else supported them.
UEFA’s entire 53-strong membership will now convene on Thursday to discuss what strategy to adopt when the Congress proper gets under way on Friday, the day after the formal opening ceremony.
Blatter himself, perhaps with an eye on his own re-election in 2015 for a fifth term when he would be 79, has already expressed his opposition to age limits but FIFA made no mention of any ballot in its official press release saying that the issue had been delayed until next year’s Congress.
Age and term limits had been considered an important part of the governance reform proposals. But now the whole debate will have to wait until next year – unless UEFA try to push through a compromise within the next 48 hours.
“It was the right decision,” one non-European executive committee member told Insideworldfootball. “It would never have got the three-quarters majority needed and may never have therefore seen the light of day at all. At least this way we have another year to all agree on something concrete.”
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