Blatter: Football now belongs to Saudi Arabia-a dramatic loss!

Blatter: Football now belongs to Saudi Arabia-a dramatic loss!

Asunción, Paraguay - Joseph "Sepp" Blatter, the former President of FIFA, has once again practiced sharp criticism of the current football lead under Gianni Infantino. In an interview, Blatter expressed his concerns about the developments that increasingly dissuade football from traditional values, in particular the growing influence of Saudi Arabia on sport. "Yes, we lost football to Saudi Arabia," he said, warning of the too close connection between the world's largest football association to the Saudi government. Blatter emphasizes that there is no opposition to these developments in FIFA, which he considers dangerous.

Blatter, who led FIFA's fortunes between 1998 and 2015, sees a major problem in the current form of congresses. In the past, he notes, there were regular discussions and an active examination of problems. Today, in times of digital congresses, conversations and debates are hardly possible. This underlines his concern about a leadership style that pushes the diversity of opinion to the edge. This was particularly questionable because Saudi Arabia received the contract for the 2034 World Cup last December.

increasing stress for players

Latter is similarly critical of the new club world championship, which will be held for the first time with 32 teams and is strongly financed by the Saudi State Fund PIF. In the increasing number of competitions, he sees an overload for the players and demands more rest periods. "There is too much football," warns Blatter and criticizes the way players, especially at extreme temperatures, are stressed. He compares the conditions under which athletes have to play in the USA with the need for a better balance in the game.

In the context of current developments, Blatter remembers his own term in which such problems were discussed and processed. He regrets that the only actual exchange nowadays often interrupted or does not take place at all. An example that he gives is an incident in which Infantino was late for a congress in Paraguay after making a trip with Donald Trump, which is in question.

The role of FIFA

The FIFA, an association with almost seven million members, has the central task of organizing international tournaments, especially the World Cup for men and women. FIFA was founded on May 21, 1904 in Paris. The first president was Robert Guérin, and the founding members included France, Germany and Spain. Since then, FIFA has developed enormously and has established numerous competitions, but has also been criticized again and again, in particular because of allegations of corruption and nepotism.

The current developments and the associated challenges show a picture that makes Blatter appear like a relapse at his time when critical discussions were part of everyday business. The concerns about the sporting integrity and the future of football are acute under today's conditions.

For more information about Blatter's statements and the condition of football, see, for example, OE24, [Sport1] (https://www.sport1.de/news/fussball/klub-wm/2025/07/blatter-wir-den-fussball-an-saudi-arabien-verben [fre.de] (https://www.fr.de/sport/fussball/fifa-fussball-weltverband-geschichte-stwett-praesident-competition Wett-wm-skandale-info-91471899.html).