Sepp Blatter reveals extent of FIFA corruption in podcast

Football podcast Heroes & Humans, hosted by journalists Simon Kuper and Mehreen Khan, has unveiled explosive new insights directly from former FIFA President, Sepp Blatter, 88.

Swiss-born Blatter was the 8th President of FIFA from 1998 to 2015, a time that saw rapid growth for football and the controversial decision to award the 2022 World Cup to Qatar. Blatter was banned from FIFA in 2015 following a major corruption scandal.

This candid interview is one of Blatter’s rarest appearances in English-language media since his FIFA exit nine years ago, offering unfiltered insight into some of the most significant moments in football and global politics.

As reported this week, Blatter and ex-UEFA chief Michel Platini are set to face a retrial in Switzerland in March 2025, after being cleared of fraud charges in 2022. The charges stem from a £1.6 million payment from FIFA to Platini in 2011. This development brings renewed attention to Blatter. In a new interview with the Heroes & Humans of Football podcast, published today, Blatter exposes the intricate inner lives of FIFA’s decision-making.

Football journalist Kuper recorded Blatter directly for the podcast in a café interview. In the interview, Blatter candidly reveals insights on topics such as his relationship with President Vladimir Putin and the decision on Qatar’s world cup. Kuper, an FT columnist, hosts the podcast together with Mehreen Khan, The Times’ Economics Editor.

The following quotes, taken directly from the podcast and spoken by Blatter, reveal the extent of FIFA’s corruption scandal. The quotes below have been edited for brevity and clarity and can be listened to in full on the podcast.

In the podcast, Blatter claims that:


The US were originally set to be the hosts of the 2022 World Cup

Blatter says: “There was a discussion inside the executive committee that the next World Cup in 2018 should go to Europe, and by rotation of the World Cup, 2022 should go to North America. It wasn’t written down, but everyone was happy until less than 10 days before the [final] decision.” 


Former President of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, asked Michel Platini to change his vote to Qatar 

In the podcast, Blatter describes a phone call from Michel Platini, the former president of UEFA who was also banned over ethics violations. Platini, he claims, had intended to vote for the USA as host until attended a meeting between then-president of France, Nicholas Sarkozy, and the now-Emir of Qatar. 

Blatter explains the phone call: “Platini called me and said: ‘Sepp, we have a problem. [Sarkozy] has asked me to vote for Qatar. It was not even a recommendation – [Sarkozy] said that if you and your [colleagues] could vote for Qatar it would be nice.’ […]”

Blatter said at the time that it was an “error” to choose Qatar. 


Blatter tried to persuade Putin to stop the war in the Ukraine

In the podcast Blatter describes numerous incidents of being close and having “friendly contact” with Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, this came to a head in February 2022, when Blatter attempted to contact Putin.

He says: “I had the number of [Putin’s press officer] Dmitry Peskov. And I tried at the beginning of the war situation to try and get in contact with Putin but it was not possible. […] I wanted to reach Putin to ask: ‘what the matter?’. He did not answer but he did receive my message.”

Heroes & Humans of Football was launched in March 2024. It has been called “the most interesting football podcast of the moment” by Dutch daily NRC. Every Thursday, the podcast hosted by Kuper and Khan portrays a key individual in the world’s most popular sport. Other individuals who have been portrayed so far include Leo Messi, Johann Cruyff, Emma Hayes and Mohammed bin Salman.