FACT CHECK: Did Sepp Blatter say he regrets bringing 2010 World Cup to Africa?

A report quoting Sepp Blatter, former FIFA president, saying he regrets the decision to support Africa’s bid to host the 2010 World Cup has surfaced online and gone viral.

Prior to the announcement of South Africa as host of the 2010 World Cup, Blatter had backed Africa to win the hosting rights for the tournament. The support of the then FIFA president subsequently saw the continent win the bid to host the tournament for the first time.

The Swiss administrator was forced out of FIFA in 2015 after he became a subject of corruption investigations.

TheCable had reported how the former FIFA boss awarded “unlawful” contracts and “extraordinary” bonus payments to cronies. Blatter was eventually slammed with six years and eight months ban from all football activities for his involvement in the corruption case.

The viral claim, however, quoted the 85-year-old to have said he was pushed out of FIFA by “anti-Africans” because he supported South Africa to host the World Cup in 2010.

“I regret bringing the world cup to Africa, and it will never happen again. I am proud of this mistake. It made me be hated by anti-Africans. They started to investigate us, they brought up propaganda information that blackmailed us,” Blatter was quoted to have said.

The quote, supposedly made by the Swiss, has been making the rounds on social media and blogs, with multiple followers sharing it as seen here and here.

I REGRET BRINGING WORLD CUP TO AFRICA AND IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN- SEPP PLATTER 🥺

Joseph “Sepp” Blatter is a retired Swiss football administrator who was the eighth President of the FIFA from 1998 to 2015. He is currently serving a six-year ban from… pic.twitter.com/OqcbfcOcit

— 𝐀𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐊𝐀 (@MyFrika) December 9, 2021

I REGRET BRINGING WORLD CUP TO AFRICA AND IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN- SEPP BLATTER

Joseph “Sepp” Blatter is a retired Swiss football administrator who was the eighth President of the FIFA from 1998 to 2015.https://t.co/DpDwFGgEL7 pic.twitter.com/PNxlv4C1ZF

— Opiopio.ng (@opiopiong) December 8, 2021

For instance, C-B Tips Stars, a Facebook page with over 66,000 followers, posted the quote on Wednesday.

The post garnered about 5,000 likes, 2,400 comments and 3,000 shares.

Did Blatter say such?

The blogs and social media users sharing the claim did not include where and when Blatter uttered the statement. However, checks by TheCable showed that a portion of the quotes was extracted from a chat between the former FIFA president and Marawa Sports Worldwide, South African podcast, in August 2020.

The 48-minute-long audio reveals that the former FIFA boss never said he regretted his decision to support South Africa’s quest to host the 2010 World Cup.

In fact, he added that he was “happy” the move was realised under his watch.

Blatter, however, claimed he was targeted because of his push to host the tournament. But he did not say he was hunted by “anti-African” forces who “brought up propaganda information that blackmailed” him.

“Yes, yes definitely [I was a target because I brought the World Cup to Africa],” Blatter said in the audio clip.

“But where there is a will, there is a way, and therefore we brought this World Cup to Africa, to South Africa. The first [time World Cup in Africa] and I think, for the time being, the only one, and I cannot see if they will be a second one. I am happy that it has been realised.”

Verdict:

The claim that Sepp Blatter said he regrets his decision to support Africa’s quest to host the 2010 World Cup is false. His words were altered.