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In 1975 Sepp Blatter was appointed director of FIFAâs technical department, where he helped to establish the Under-20 World Cup as part of FIFAâs roster of tournaments. He became the organizationâs general secretary in 1981 before being elected president on June 8, 1998. During Blatterâs time at FIFA, the global game expanded with new competitions, including the Under-17 (initially Under-16), Club, Womenâs, Beach Soccer, and Futsal (indoor soccer) World Cups. He cultivated worldwide links to influential people, especially in Asia and Africa.
What were the corruption allegations against Sepp Blatter?
Blatter was implicated in several financial scandals. He was connected to a scandal in the aftermath of the collapse of one of FIFAâs marketing partners in 2001, but, despite apparently damning evidence, he was exonerated. As early as 2011 there were allegations of bribery and fraud over the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cup finals to Russia and Qatar, respectively. In 2015 several FIFA executives (not including Blatter) were arrested on charges of racketeering and money laundering. Blatter was later found guilty of ethics violations, leading to a temporary ban from football (soccer) activities. In 2021 he was indicted on fraud charges related to a 2011 payment to Michel Platini but was ultimately acquitted.
How did Blatterâs presidency at FIFA end?
Blatterâs FIFA presidency ended after he was suspended by the organizationâs ethics committee in October 2015. A few months later FIFA barred him from football-related activities for eight years. Blatter contested the decision, and in February 2016 FIFAâs appeals committee reduced the ban to six years. The organization banned him for an additional six years after his first ban ended in 2021.
Blatter earned a business and economics degree at the University of Lausanne and was a keen amateur footballer in his youth, playing center forward for FC Sierre. He spoke French, English, Italian, and Spanish in addition to German and initially worked as a journalist. In a series of public relations positions, he presided as the head of a local tourist board, the general secretary of the Swiss ice hockey federation, and a director of a watch-manufacturing company. He was also involved in the Munich 1972 and Montreal 1976 Olympic Games.
Blatter began working for FIFA in 1975 when he was appointed director of the organizationâs technical department. In that role he was instrumental in establishing the Under-20 World Cup as part of FIFAâs roster of tournaments. He became the organizationâs general secretary in 1981 before being elected president on June 8, 1998, to succeed JoĂŁo Havelange.
During Blatterâs time at FIFA the global game expanded with new competitions, including the Under-17 (initially Under-16), Club, Womenâs, Beach Soccer, and Futsal (indoor soccer) World Cups. He cultivated worldwide links to influential people, especially in Asia and Africa, where he developed his power base, lavishing attention and FIFA money on members in those regions.
Allegations of corruption
Early in Blatterâs tenure, a succession of financial scandals initially did not affect his position, as he distanced himself from any hint of misconduct, largely escaped being associated with disgraced FIFA officials, and refused to accept any moral responsibility for their actions. He was implicated in the aftermath of the collapse of one of FIFAâs marketing partners in 2001, but, despite apparently damning evidence, he was exonerated and was reelected president in 2002. Blatter stood unopposed for the post in 2007 and again in 2011, though allegations later emerged that South Africa had contributed $10 million toward securing the right to stage the 2010 World Cup. As early as 2011 there were allegations of bribery and fraud over the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cup finals to Russia and Qatar, respectively. Outside the sports arena, observers came to perceive FIFA as a moneymaking venture with merely a peripheral interest in the welfare of the game itself. From 2011 to 2014, for example, the bodyâs income, mainly from worldwide sponsorships and television rights, was estimated at $5.7 billion.
On May 27, 2015, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Swiss investigators raided a ZĂŒrich hotel in advance of the FIFA annual congress, arresting and charging seven FIFA executives with racketeering and money laundering. Seven additional officials and sports-marketing figures were indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice in connection with offenses spanning 24 years. It was also revealed that four other executives and two companies had already pleaded guilty in the international probe, which involved some $150 million in alleged bribes and kickbacks. Two days after the arrests, Blatter was nevertheless reelected by a nearly two-thirds majority of the 209-member FIFA body. As the corruption scandal and public outcry over Blatterâs reelection escalated in the following days, however, Blatter called for a special session of the FIFA congress to be held and vowed to resign once the congress elected his successor. In October 2015, following the announcements of further investigations of Blatter, FIFAâs ethics committee suspended him from the organization for 90 days, and Issa Hayatou was named acting president.
Two months later Blatter was found guilty of ethics violations and barred from football-related activities for eight years. Some of the charges stemmed from a $2 million payment Blatter made to Michel Platini in 2011; Platini, who was then president of the Union of European Football Associations, was considered Blatterâs likely successor. Blatter contested the decision, and in February 2016 FIFAâs appeals committee reduced the ban to six years. That ruling was upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in December. Also in 2016 FIFA elected a new president, Gianni Infantino. Citing financial wrongdoing, FIFA issued another ban against Blatter in March 2021. It barred him from football for an additional six years beginning after his original ban ended in October.
Later in 2021 Swiss authorities indicted Blatter and Platini on fraud charges related to the 2011 payment. The two men went on trial in 2022, and both were acquitted. They were acquitted again in 2025 after prosecutors appealed the decision.
Blatter has leveled criticism at his former organization, in particular its current president, Gianni Infantino. Blatter cast aspersions on Infantino for his friendly relationship with both Saudi Arabian crown prince Mohammed bin Salman and American president Donald Trump, and further objected to the awarding of the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize to Trump in 2025. Blatter also criticized the format of the 2026 World Cup, expressing distaste for the tournamentâs expansion to 48 teams and the uneven distribution of games among the three host countries; he has backed calls for a fan boycott of matches in the United States. Additionally, he objected to plans for the 2030 World Cup games to be played in six countries and to Saudi Arabia hosting the tournament in 2034.
