FIFA: " 'A lack of understanding ' with UEFA since its founding in 1954" (Joseph Blatter, FIFA)

There have been strained relations between FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) and UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) "as long as UEFA has been around. Since the founding of UEFA in Basel in 1954 ... there has always been a lack of understanding," Joseph Blatter, President of FIFA, told News Tank on 25/04/2014.

"At that time, you could still say that it was UEFA that financed FIFA via the World Cup, because all of the sponsors and broadcasters came from Europe, but today that's no longer the case," he added.

Far from denying himself as a definite candidate for a fifth term as president of FIFA on 29/05/2015, Blatter said, "Don't forget that in 1998, I would have been happy to continue as the general secretary of FIFA. But they didn't just want to remove the patriarch [Joao Havelange], but also his prophet."

Concerning the governance reform, "we have come to the end... but it's never really over because reforming means questioning oneself," he said. But the Swiss leader expressed confidence that the congress in Sao Paulo on 11/06/2014 would reject any…