NASSAU, Bahamas — CONCACAF member associations have expectedly embraced the incumbent Joseph ‘Sepp’ Blatter as their choice in the FIFA presidential elections scheduled for Zurich, Switzerland, on May 29.

During the 30th CONCACAF Ordinary Congress at the idyllic Atlantis Paradise Island Resort and Hotel yesterday, Caribbean members, particularly, saluted the Swiss as their Messiah.

Blatter, seeking a fifth term at the helm of football’s governing body, was even likened to Jesus Christ and Nelson Mandela for what is seen as his “soft spot” for the Caribbean, which has benefited from many FIFA development programmes inspired by the Swiss.

Jamaica was among the member countries that hailed the 79-year-old for his pioneering development initiatives, with the most noted being the global Goal Project.

“I think the CONCACAF membership voiced their views today (yesterday), clearly and passionately for Mr Blatter, who has delivered in so many ways in the region as he has been a champion for development and a champion for the Third World.

“What you saw is the members showing their passion to support him as he as stood by them… what they are saying, in other words, is that Blatter has been loyal to the region and they are going to be loyal to him, and this is not the CONCACAF president or the executive committee dictating to them by telling them what to do,” noted Jeffrey Webb, the CONCACAF president.

The other four candidates in the FIFA presidential race — Michael van Praag (Netherlands), David Ginola (France), Luiz Figo (Portugal) and FIFA vice-president Prince Ali bin Al-Hussein — also attended the congress.

Blatter, who was elevated to FIFA’s top job in 1998 after serving as general secretary for years, said he never doubted CONCACAF’s support of him.

“CONCACAF was always (in my corner) in elections for president of FIFA, and remember in 1998 it (CONCACAF) was my base, and I have had elections in 2002 and 2011 and they have always been my base and I think I have a connection with CONCACAF specifically, and of course the CFU…

“I am the development officer for FIFA and I have a heart for these small associations and they are giving it back to me. I must say I was happy and I was touched by the statements that were given, and it would be nice when the report comes out in the print media and my family reads it, they will see that I was well-received,” Blatter told the Jamaica Observer.

At the voting session of the CONCACAF sitting, the Caymanian Webb received a resounding endorsement as he was re-elected unopposed as president.

“I am overwhelmed with the confidence reposed in me by the 41 members, but it’s not me doing it or the executive committee, it’s the higher membership that is doing this; they are very involved, they are empowered and they know exactly what’s happening — they are collectively making the decisions,” he told the Observer.

The Caribbean representative, Jamaica’s Captain Horace Burrell, was returned without challenge as a vice-president, so too Mexico’s Justino Compean from the North American region.

“What this means is that the general membership is happy with what we have been doing to reshape CONCACAF and to position it as a powerhouse in the game… I am just happy that I can continue to work with my colleagues in our shared vision for the confederation,” Burrell said.

The only vote-off that was expected on the day fizzled when the incumbent Rafael Salguero of Guatemala gracefully stepped aside, allowing his Central American colleague Eduardo Li of Costa Rica to become CONCACAF’s newest member of FIFA’s executive committee.

Turks and Caicos’ Sonia Bien-Aime and Panama’s Pedro Chaluja were installed to the CONCACAF executive committee.

— Sean Williams