Jérôme Valcke has announced his intention to step down as Fifa secretary general in February when Sepp Blatter’s presidency comes to an end.
Speaking in St Petersburg, where the qualifying draw for the 2018 World Cup is taking place, the 54-year-old said his successor should be happy because plans for the tournament in Russia are progressing smoothly. “Russia is on track and I have no concern,” said Valcke, who at the same stage of the Brazil World Cup told its organisers they needed a “kick up the ass” to ensure work was completed on time. “The next secretary general should be happy as we have a well-organised World Cup.”
Valcke said he was leaving the post after eight years because the new president should be free to make his own appointment, not because Blatter’s successor might view him as tarnished by the old regime. “Whoever becomes the new Fifa president should have a new secretary general – it is the most important relationship for any organisation,” he said. “As the head of the administration I can be proud of what Fifa has done. The administration, I don’t think, has ever been part of any of the stories which are around Fifa, including all the commercial agreements we have signed from 2007 to 2015.
“I have not seen anything relating to wrongdoing by the Fifa administration regarding any commercial aspect during this period, so if you are asking me if I am responsible for what happened I don’t think I am really involved. I don’t think I am of anything to do with this case. The task of the secretary general is to implement the decisions which are coming from the Fifa congress or the Fifa executive committee.”
Nonetheless Valcke was willing to admit that Fifa’s well-documented difficulties over the past few months have had the effect of making the World Cup a harder sell to sponsors. No new sponsors have joined up since last year’s World Cup in Brazil, and a projected target of $6bn for the 2018 tournament is beginning to look ambitious. “The current situation does not help to finalise any new agreements, that is a fact,” Valcke said. “We have been in negotiations with some major companies but I don’t believe any announcements will be made until the election in February.”
Severallong-standing Fifa sponsors have recently been critical of Fifa’s response to the allegations of bribery and corruption being investigated by the US Department of Justice, with Visa openly sceptical about the existing leadership.
Valcke intends to convene a meeting to brief sponsors next month but does not believe the commercial package for the 2018 World Cup is dangerously behind schedule. “We might have to wait until February but that’s not too late as long as we do some deals in the early part of 2016.”
