Unsurprisingly to no one, Sepp Blatter won FIFA presidential re-election for an unprecedented fifth term on Friday.
Challenger Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein managed to obtain 73 votes in the first round, to Blatter's 133, but was unable to win the two-third majority (139). Needing to swing 66 additional votes, Prince Ali addressed the voting members and conceded.
"It has been a wonderful journey in terms of knowing you and working with you, seeing the challenges you have and I want to thank in particular those of you who were brave enough to support me," Ali said (via ESPN FC). "But having said that, I will be withdrawing from the race. Thank you all very much and I wish you all the best of luck for the future."
A cocky Blatter accepted and offered his appreciation to the voting members.
"I thank you, I thank that you have accepted me," said Blatter in his acceptance speech. "We will bring this boat back, we will bring it back to shore. We don't need revolutions, but we always need evolution."
"Yesterday, the day before and today, I am being held accountable for the current storm," he added. "Okay, so be it. I will shoulder that responsibility. Just as I said, I will take it upon myself. I will accept it and I want to fix FIFA together with you."
"I want to hand over a FIFA that will have emerged from the storm. A FIFA that will have enough safeguards which will not need the political interventions. I promise you this."
Corruption, arrests, inhumane working conditions in Qatar, nothing is enough to dethrone the most powerful man in sports.
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