Blatter resignation saddens Kalu

FOOTBALL Association of (FAZ) president, Kalusha Bwalya has described the resignation of FIFA president, Sepp Blatter as a sad day for football.

Blatter, who has been at the helm of the world football governing body for 17 years, announced his resignation , barely four days after winning his fifth term in office.
Kalusha, who led a three-man Zambian delegation at the 65th FIFA Congress in Zurich, Switzerland last week, said the quitting of Blatter was a sad development for global football.
“FIFA president Sepp Blatter announces that he will resign. Sad day for football,” Kalusha tweeted moments after Blatter announced his departure.
He, however, said Blatter did a honourable thing and pledged his continued support to the Swiss who has spent about 40 years in global football administration.
“Honourable gesture from the FIFA president @SeppBlatter. You will always have my support,” the 1988 African Footballer of the Year said.
Kalusha said Blatter had brought a lot of change for the betterment of the game and that he would always have his respect.

“The man has given more than 40 years to world football. I have respect for that . Thank you, he brought so much change for the better of the game. You have to respect that,” he tweeted.
Kalusha, who is an executive member for the Confederation of African Football (CAF), also rubbished allegations that him and other global football administrators reap financial rewards from FIFA.
Instead, the Zambian football legend said governments spend more on football each year than what FIFA contributes.
“Our governments spend more on football each year and yet people think we get everything from FIFA,” Kalusha wrote in his twitter account.
FAZ vice-president, Boniface Mwamelo said Blatter was a man of action who leaves behind an admirable legacy.
Mwamelo said in an interview yesterday that despite the manner Blatter was departing the FIFA presidency, he leaves behind unmatched legacy.

He described Blatter as a man who managed to move FIFA away from its origins of being a private club into a big commercial entity with proud member associations.
Mwamelo said with Blatter around, FIFA invested a lot in artificial pitches and other development programmes across the globe and that this has played a crucial role in developing football in most third world countries.
The 79-year-old Blatter played a pivotal role in bringing the World Cup on African soil – South Africa – for the first time in 2010.
Africa has been a firm supporter of Blatter for sometime and despite the corruption scandal that clouded FIFA last week, the continental football administrators still voiced their support for Blatter in Zurich.