Skip to content
Skip to main content
header search
ahihi OpenLearn
OpenLearn
Menu
sticky search

About this free course

Become an OU student

Download this course

Share this free course

Course content Course content
The football World Cup: where sport and politics collide
The football World Cup: where sport and politics collide

Start this free course now. Just create an account and sign in. Enrol and complete the course for a free statement of participation or digital badge if available.

More free courses

2 Sepp Blatter: sexist leader or godfather of the women’s game?

A photograph of Sepp Blatter with Martina Voss-Tecklenburg, Antonia Albisser, Nicole Remund and Tatjana Haenni.
Figure 2 Swiss women national football team coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg, Swiss goalkeeper Antonia Albisser, FIFA President Sepp Blatter, Swiss player Nicole Remund and FIFA Head of Women’s Competitions Tatjana Haenni.
Show description|Hide description

A photograph of Sepp Blatter with Martina Voss-Tecklenburg, Antonia Albisser, Nicole Remund and Tatjana Haenni.

Figure 2 Swiss women national football team coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg, Swiss goalkeeper Antonia Albisser, FIFA President Sepp ...

It might be an understatement to suggest that former FIFA President, Sepp Blatter, is one of the more controversial figures in world football. Indeed, in the wake of the 2015 corruption scandal Blatter’s reputation was severely damaged, arguably beyond repair. His history of blunders has been well documented, including the time he offered fashion advice by suggesting that women players wear tighter shorts for ‘a more female aesthetic’ (Christenson and Kelso, 2004).

Yet among all the controversy remains a figure who some claim shepherded the women’s game into a position it might have never reached without him (Macur, 2015). Blatter, never one to hide his ego, once described himself as the ‘godfather’ to women’s football (Wire, 2015).

Activity 2 Blatter’s influence on women’s football

Timing: Allow approximately 20 minutes

Watch the below video clip recorded by the Oxford Union in 2013 where Blatter gives his views on women’s football, and then read the New York Times article by Macur (2015). Respond to the following questions:

  1. Are you convinced by the claims in either source of Blatter’s influence in the development of women’s football?
  2. What other factors might have been attributed to the growth in women’s football, particularly throughout the 2010s?
Download this video clip.Video player: Video 1
Copy this transcript to the clipboard
Print this transcript
Show transcript | Hide transcript

Transcript: Video 1 Sepp Blatter on women’s football

PARIT WACHARASINDHU
I want to talk a little bit about women's football. Now, you stated in 1995 that the future of football is feminine. In 2004, you then propose a possible alteration to the game that drew few criticisms from female footballers. Now where do you think women's football has come since then? And at present, what would you like to see happen to the female version of the beautiful game? And leading on to that, do you think that perhaps one day FIFA could have a female president? And what would be your opinions on that?
JOSEPH BLATTER
So we have already now one woman fully elected in our executive committee. After 108 years the FIFA has agreed that one lady can be in the FIFA and two co-opted. So we have now 27 members in my executive committee. But concerning women's football, I'm amazed that female players are criticising FIFA. We are doing everything for women's football and we are doing such a lot for women's football in other culture, in the country, in the Arabic countries where football is played and given to the women, a better approach to the society, more freedom, they can play football.
They play football in all these countries, even in Saudi Arabia women's football is played, but in the shell or in a stadium, in a closed stadium. What they want now the women's football also is to have more competitions. We have the under-17, the under-20. We have now the World Cup with 24 teams in 2015 in Canada. We have the Olympic football tournament with 12 teams. Now they want to have a Champions League and so on.
But women's football is developing well. We have more than 45 million girls and women registered in the different associations in FIFA. I think we have done a lot. But naturally, we have not had the same approach in this macho game, which is football, than in other industries or commercial companies where they say we have to have a quota of 50% or 20% women or men. But in football now, women's football, I am very I am very proud that I said that the future is feminine.
I did it because we were criticised, because we had done nothing for women's football up to 1986. Up to 1986, FIFA has done nothing for women's football. And where we are now, then you can say, '86 to 2012, 2012, 2013. It's not such a long period. And it's all around the world, now women are playing football.
End transcript: Video 1 Sepp Blatter on women’s football
Download
Video 1 Sepp Blatter on women’s football
Interactive feature not available in single page view (see it in standard view).

To access a free version of ‘A little praise for Sepp Blatter. Very little’ by Juliet Macur, follow these steps:

  1. Open a search engine, e.g., Google.
  2. Type in ‘a little praise for Sepp Blatter’
  3. Select the top result from the New York Times website
To use this interactive functionality a free OU account is required. Sign in or register.
Interactive feature not available in single page view (see it in standard view).

Discussion

  1. This is an interesting debate given the reputation of Blatter as ‘unapologetically sexist’ (Venetis, 2015). Nevertheless, it’s difficult to argue that under Blatter’s presidency an expansion of women’s football around the globe took place. Whether he spearheaded this or, as USA star Megan Rapinoe put it, simply allowed it to grow remains up for discussion.
  2. The expansion of teams competing in the 2015 World Cup (from 16 in 2011 to 24 in 2015) ensured wider coverage throughout the world. Meanwhile, there has been a growth in professional women’s football as a result of greater investment. Most top domestic teams across the world are now fully professional and many countries have professional women’s leagues. Growing participation internationally has translated to an improved quality of football and therefore better competitive balance (Scelles, 2021) boosting fandom and reputation. The 2019 World Cup in France generated a record-breaking number of viewers, with 1.12 billion people watching the final between the United States and Japan (FIFA, 2019).

It may be generous to suggest that Sepp Blatter is a football hero of any kind. Afterall, the same year he proclaimed to be the godfather of women’s football, he failed to travel to Canada for the women’s World Cup (Dunn, 2016).