Blatter has yet to start presidential campaign

Since Sepp Blatter officially declared his candidacy for FIFA president at the end of January, he has refrained from making any public statements about his presidential programme. Blatter will enter a fifth term if elected on May 29 - and most bets are placed on him keeping the throne.

Lately, he has declined a joint invitation from BBC and Sky to attend a live TV debate taking questions from fans. Blatters three opponents – Luís Figo, Michael van Praag and Prince Ali of Jordan – had all accepted on the condition that the incumbent president would participate.

At today’s UEFA congress, all four candidates had been given a time slot to present their programmes and plans for international football, an opportunity that Blatter also turned down.

“We proposed to him, as well as to the other three candidates, to take the floor at our congress and tell our members what they wanted to tell them,” said UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino according to Reuters. “But Mr Blatter has decided that he is going to speak only as FIFA president and not as one of the candidates. The associations can decide for themselves whether they think President Blatter has shown them a lack of respect.”

According to Blatter, his record speaks for itself.

"My manifesto is the work I have done in the last years in FIFA. I am 40 years in FIFA and I am 17 years as president, this is my manifesto," he told a press conference after the FIFA Executive Committee meeting last week.

As the only one of the four contesters, Blatter has yet to publish his manifesto and speculations are ongoing as to who will do his electoral campaigning. According to the election rules, FIFA employees cannot work on presidential campaigns.

Blatter’s three challengers are expected to present their manifestos to the 54 European football organisations gathered in Vienna. Find their manifestos and programme websites here: