* CAF unaware of African requests for Blatter to stay on * Swiss prosecutor to address Cup bids case tomorrow
LONDON — Sepp Blatter is actively considering reversing his promise to stand down as FIFA president, one of his advisers has told Sky News.
Klaus Stoehlker, who advised Blatter during the recent election campaign, said Blatter could remain head of world soccer's governing body if a “convincing candidate” to replace him did not emerge.
Blatter stepped down as FIFA president almost two weeks ago, as the Swiss-based body was rocked by corruption allegations.
Stoehlker, who Sky News says stressed he is not an official spokesman, was in a meeting when contacted by Reuters and unable to immediately comment. Switzerland's Schweiz am Sonntag newspaper reported Sunday that Blatter, 79, may seek to stay on.
Africa's soccer confederation (CAF) has not heard of any of its members asking Blatter to stay on as FIFA president, an executive committee member said Monday.
“At CAF level we are not aware of any African countries who have written to ask Blatter to stay on,” Kalusha Bwalya, a CAF executive committee member and president of the Football Association of Zambia, told Reuters. “We feel it is better to get on with our own work in the mean time and see what everyone has to say in the next months. Everybody is waiting for clarity.”
The confusion surround FIFA's leadership took a new twist Sunday when the Schweiz am Sonntag newspaper reported that Blatter, 79, may seek to stay on as president, less than two weeks after he promised to step down, four days after being re-elected.
The report said Blatter had received messages of support from African and Asian football associations, asking him to rethink his decision.
Blatter was honored by the support and had not ruled out remaining in office, the newspaper said, citing an anonymous source close to him.
But Bwalya, a former Zambia international, said CAF was waiting for FIFA's executive committee meeting before taking a position.
“The African members will then report back to the CAF executive when we met on August 6 and we'll see what will be done after that,” he said.
“At the moment there are a lot of rumors floating about and everyone is rushing to turn the smallest piece of information into a story.”
Blatter was re-elected for a fifth term as FIFA president on May 27 when his opponent Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein withdrew after Blatter won the first round of voting by 133 votes to 73.
Four days later, as corruption allegations continued to batter FIFA, Blatter, in a shock announcement, said he would stand down and call a new election, due to be held between December and February.
The FBI is investigating bribery and corruption at FIFA, including scrutiny of how soccer's governing body awarded World Cup hosting rights to Russia and Qatar.
Switzerland's federal prosecutor, meanwhile, will talk about his criminal investigation of FIFA's 2018 and 2022 World Cup bid contests for the first time Wednesday.
The office of Attorney-General Michael Lauber says he will make a statement about the case at a news conference in Bern.
The Swiss case is targeting possible criminal mismanagement and money laundering in bidding campaigns won by Russia and Qatar, respectively. — Agencies
