Sepp Blatter remains firmly on course to secure his fifth four-year term as Fifa president today with Uefa president Michel Platini all but admitting that the Swiss will beat Prince Ali bin al-Hussein despite strong European backing for the challenger.

The Jordanian’s backers claim that he has around 90 of the 105 votes that he requires with the hope being that the events of the last 48 hours or so will persuade others to switch sides. Around half of Prince Ali’s support, if those figures are correct, comes from Europe with those close to him saying the bulk of the rest comes from the confederations of North and South America, the organisations most directly affected by the US Attorney’s indictments this week.

Leaders of the delegates from Africa and Asia declared their intention yesterday to stick with Blatter although Prince Ali will clearly hope to pick up some support from a grouping that elected him a Fifa vice president in 2011.

Somewhat ironically, the 39-year-old was seen as something of a Blatter loyalist at that stage, closely associating himself with the president in his campaign material as he sought to defeat an incumbent, Chung Mong-joon of South Korea, with an established track record of criticising the Swiss on issues like ethics.

The dramatic shift in Prince Ali’s position since make it difficult to call how many of the 25 Asian votes he got then he might retain now but as a bloc, the federation has committed to supporting the older man even though this is not binding on individual associations.

Uefa, meanwhile, has been doing everything in its power to deliver votes for the challenger, starting with its own. Platini estimated that “45 or 46” of the federation’s member associations will back Prince Ali and, he said, “I will keep working to get more.”

Direct appeal

The Frenchman, who made a direct appeal to his former ally to abandon his bid for a fifth term, acknowledged that Blatter’s determination to stay in the race suggested that he remains confident that he has the numbers to win.

“If he has decided to stay on, it means he is still strong,’’ he said before expressing the hope that some African associations might jump ship.

Platini was speaking at a press conference where he confirmed that Uefa had rejected the idea of boycotting the election but said that in the event Blatter prevails, the European associations would consider all of their options when they meet again in Berlin next week ahead of the Champions League final. He all but ruled out a boycott of the next World Cup, however.

In the meantime, he said, he is “disgusted,” and “absolutely sickened,” by the situation that has developed. He claimed that he had spoken to Blatter “like a friend,” but “with tears in my eyes” when he told him that “people have had enough, we can’t go on like this”.

Their conversation had taken place at the first of a series of emergency meetings between Blatter and leading figures from the continental confederations. The Fifa president met them collectively, when Platini made his appeal in front of the others, then individually in an attempt to win their support.

Later, the man who has held key positions in the game’s governing body for 40 years and had the top job for the last 17, told delegates at the opening of Fifa’s Congress that he remains the man best placed to lead the process of reform.

“I know many people hold me ultimately responsible for the actions and reputation of the global football community,” he said in what was a short speech immediately followed by, somewhat incongruously, the usual opening ceremony entertainment, “whether it’s a decision for the hosting of the World Cup, or a corruption scandal.

“We, or I, cannot monitor everyone all of the time. If people want to do wrong, they will also try to hide it. But it must fall to me to bear the responsibility for the reputation and wellbeing of our organisation and to find a way forward to fix things.”

Amongst the Europeans, with the likely exceptions of Russia, Spain and a handful of others, there is a strong sense of exasperation that Blatter can continue to portray himself as part of the solution to Fifa problems. Aside from Platini, there were firm expressions of discontent from leading German, Dutch and English officials.

Walk away

David Gill, the former Manchester United chief executive who is a member of

Fifa Executive Committee

and about to become a vice president, said he will walk away from the organisation if Prince Ali is defeated.

The problem for Gill and co though is that the campaign’s distinctly European flavour plays badly amongst many delegates from further afield, some of whom simply don’t want reform while others believe they are being lectured to.

Blatter has proved highly effective at capitalising to both sentiments and as the canvassing continued last night he may well have enjoyed reminding the delegates from Africa, Asia or the Americas of the German who said of the ongoing problem of Fifa related corruption before the election four years ago that: “It is time for the strong federations from Germany, England, Spain or France to clean things up.”

That was Uli Hoeness, who is now in prison for tax evasion.