Sepp Blatter biography to be released in weeks, says publisher

Photo credit: AFP

An authorized biography of Sepp Blatter written by the shamed FIFA president’s former spokesman will be released next month, the publisher said Tuesday, four days before an election to choose Blatter’s successor.

“It is really a journey through Sepp Blatter’s life,” said Alain Diezig of publisher Werd&Weber.

“Mission Football”, which includes many photos, was written by Thomas Renggli, who served as Blatter’s spokesman at FIFA before resigning last September.

“Mr. Renggli has some very personal information from Mr. Blatter,” Diezig told AFP.

The German draft is currently undergoing final edits with publication expected in the coming weeks, while an English translation is due out in June, the publisher further said.

Diezig added that the book charts Blatter’s early years in his home Swiss canton of Valais, his start in sports management and his rise “up the FIFA hierarchy”.

He said the project began long-before May 2015, when the unprecedented crisis engulfing FIFA began with the arrests of football executives by Swiss police during a dawn raid in Zurich.

The book touches on the crisis and Renggli may be planning to add a final section following Friday’s FIFA congress vote, where the next president of world football will be chosen.

“I think Mr. Renggli wanted to include the latest developments,” Diezig said.

Blatter, the most prominent casualty of the vast scandal within FIFA, was banned from football for eight years over ethics violations.

He has appealed that ban, with a decision expected on Tuesday.