Blatter : football is victim of corruption

Football is the victim of corruption in the whole society, said FIFA president Sepp Blatter here on Saturday. "Corruption is in our society. We are touched. Football is the victim," said Blatter who called for solidarity several times during the opening ceremony of the AIPS (International Sports Press Association) Young Reporters Program. According to Blatter, around 300 million people have been directly involved in the fight against match-fixing. "I don't like people saying there's too much corruption in football. Sport is a phenomenon of society. It's not only about performance, but also about education." Though two goal-line systems were due to be tested during the December's Club World Cup, Blatter clearly rejected the idea of allowing more high-technology devices into the field. "To go forward with technology will just kill the role of fans. Let's just stop it there." FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, featuring 16 teams, opened later that night. It is the first FIFA competition that will be held in Azerbaijan. "It's the first time that FIFA organized the competition in a country with different culture," said Blatter as about 93.4 percent of the population of Azerbaijan identified itself as Muslim, "It's a way for football to open its doors to all cultures in the world."