(Bloomberg) — FIFA President Sepp Blatter added support from the North American area soccer governing group in his attempt for a fifth term with the sport’s global body, getting praise that compared him to Nelson Mandela.
Executives from the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football, known as Concacaf, expressed support Thursday for the 79-year-old, who is running against Jordan’s Prince Ali bin al Hussein, former Real Madrid player Luis Figo and Dutch soccer head Michael van Praag in the May 29 vote. The leadership of the African confederation pledged its support earlier this month.
During Blatter’s presidency, FIFA has been battered by a series of scandals, including inquiries into several senior executives amid graft allegations. The choice of awarding the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar continues to attract negative headlines five years after that decision was made. Two FIFA members were suspended from the vote after telling undercover reporters their votes could be bought.
Blatter, accompanied by staff from FIFA’s headquarters in Zurich, arrived in the Bahamas by private jet three days ago and addressed officials at their annual meeting Thursday. He promised to push for an extra World Cup place for the region and told officials of the 41-nation group they would share $150 million to $180 million in development income over the next four years.
Osiris Guzman, president of the Dominican Republic’s soccer body, likened Blatter to great men of history, starting from Moses and Jesus to Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela.
In 2011, Guzman was among Caribbean officials suspended in a bribery inquiry. Envelopes stuffed with $40,000 were passed to soccer leaders during a visit by Mohamed bin Hammam, the ex-head of the sport in Asia as he challenged Blatter during the last election.
