Sepp Blatter would regret Fifa’s departure from Zurich
Published: Friday, May 17th 2024, 20:30
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According to former FIFA President Sepp Blatter, the amendment to the statutes of the world football association Fifa should be taken seriously. It is a challenge for Zurich, he told Swiss radio and television SRF.
"If the city wants FIFA to stay in Zurich, then it has to move now. Perhaps also the canton and probably Switzerland too," said Blatter according to "srf.ch". It is important where the world's most important sports association is based, he emphasized.
He would be very sorry to see FIFA leave Zurich. The football association has brought the crème de la crème to Zurich with various events, filling hotels and restaurants, he said.
FIFA approved an amendment to its statutes on Friday, thereby creating the formal conditions for a theoretical departure from its headquarters in Zurich. The statutes now state that the headquarters are in Zurich - until the Congress makes a decision on the headquarters. There has never been such a restriction before. Fifa has been based in Zurich since 1932.
Blatter, who was born in Visp VS in 1936, was the official president of football's world governing body from 1998 to 2016. In December 2015, Blatter was banned from all football-related activities for eight years by the FIFA Ethics Committee following an investigation by the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG). In 2016, the ban was reduced to six years by a Fifa Court of Appeal. In 2022, Blatter was acquitted of the charges by the OAG.
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