Madail: FIFA president's term should be limited
Reuters - Tuesday 31 May 2011, 18:24
ZURICH - The number of terms the FIFA
president can serve should be limited, the head of the
Portuguese football federation said on Tuesday.
Gilberto Madail (pictured, middle) added that if the president of world football's governing body stays too long in his post, he can
starting making mistakes without even noticing.
Maidal's remarks came on the eve of the presidential vote
where Sepp Blatter, who has already been at the helm for 13
years, is set to be elected unopposed for another four.
Blatter's predecessor Joao Havelange was in power for 24
years and FIFA has only had eight presidents in its 107-year
history.
"I always said there should be a limit on the number of
mandates otherwise people get too used to being in power,"
Maidal told the Portuguese television station RTP.
"They end up committing mistakes without even noticing."
FIFA has been hit by a wave of corruption scandals with four
executive committee members suspended since October, including
Mohamed Bin Hammam who had been due to run against Blatter on
Wednesday.
The Qatari withdrew his candidacy on Sunday after being
suspended amid cash-for-votes allegations along with Jack
Warner, one of the most influential figures on the FIFA
executive committee.
"If you don't correct this, then FIFA will lose public
respect," said Madail, not usually regarded as an outspoken
figure.
"It's time for FIFA to be looked at from top to bottom
because if they (the public) stop respecting FIFA, football will
not be respected.
He added that an election in such circumstances was "like
having sand in your shoe."
"There are no UEFA officials involved and this for UEFA is
an advantage," he said referring to European football's governing
body.