Sepp Blatter
The polarizing Swiss bureaucrat who presided over FIFA's global explosion and its spectacular descent into corruption.
Born 1936 (age 90)·Swiss football administrator·Birthday: March 10·The Silent Generation
Biography
Sepp Blatter's four-decade ascent within FIFA mirrored football's own transformation into a trillion-dollar global industry. A savvy marketing man from the Swiss Alps, he climbed the ranks, becoming president in 1998 with a pledge to spread the game to new frontiers. He delivered, expanding the World Cup and pouring funds into development programs that built his power base in Africa and Asia. Under his watch, television revenues skyrocketed and the sport's popularity reached unprecedented heights. Yet, the commercial bonanza was shadowed by persistent allegations of vote-selling and bribery, which crystallized into a massive corruption scandal in 2015. Blatter's reign ended in suspension and disgrace, his legacy a stark paradox: he was both the architect of football's modern wealth and the figurehead of its most profound governance failure, leaving the sport to untangle a web of corruption spun during his era.
The Silent Generation
1928–1945
Born between the Depression and the end of WWII. Too young to fight, old enough to remember. They became the conformist middle managers of the 1950s — and the civil rights leaders who quietly dismantled Jim Crow.
Sepp was born in 1936, placing them squarely in The Silent Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Sepp Was Born
The biggest hits of 1936
#1 Movie
San Francisco
Best Picture
The Great Ziegfeld
Sepp's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1936Born
Jesse Owens wins four golds at the Berlin Olympics
Gas: $0.19/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"The Way You Look Tonight" — Fred AstaireBest Picture: The Great Ziegfeld
1941Started school
Pearl Harbor attack brings the US into WWII
Gas: $0.19/galHome: $3,060Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Chattanooga Choo Choo" — Glenn MillerBest Picture: How Green Was My Valley
1949Became a teenager
NATO founded; Mao proclaims the People's Republic of China
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,450Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Riders in the Sky" — Vaughn MonroeBest Picture: All the King's Men
1952Could drive
Queen Elizabeth II ascends the throne
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,350Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Blue Tango" — Leroy AndersonBest Picture: The Greatest Show on Earth
1954Could vote
Brown v. Board of Education desegregates US schools
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $8,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Little Things Mean a Lot" — Kitty KallenBest Picture: On the Waterfront
1957Turned 21
Sputnik launches the Space Age
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $10,550Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"All Shook Up" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: The Bridge on the River Kwai
1966Turned 30
Star Trek premieres on television
Gas: $0.32/galHome: $14,200Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"The Ballad of the Green Berets" — SSgt Barry SadlerBest Picture: A Man for All Seasons
1976Turned 40
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1986Turned 50
Challenger disaster; Chernobyl nuclear meltdown
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $66,600Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"That's What Friends Are For" — Dionne & FriendsBest Picture: Platoon
1996Turned 60
Dolly the sheep cloned
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $99,700Min wage: $4.75/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Macarena" — Los del RioBest Picture: The English Patient
2006Turned 70
Twitter launches; Pluto reclassified as dwarf planet
Gas: $2.59/galHome: $174,700Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Bad Day" — Daniel PowterBest Picture: The Departed
2016Turned 80
Donald Trump elected president; Brexit vote
Gas: $2.14/galHome: $181,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Love Yourself" — Justin BieberBest Picture: Moonlight
2026Age 90 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Served as the eighth President of FIFA, world football's governing body, from 1998 to 2015.
- Oversaw the expansion of the FIFA World Cup to 32 teams and its awarding to new host nations in Asia and Africa.
- Implemented financial assistance programs for national football associations, significantly increasing FIFA's global influence.
Did You Know?
Before joining FIFA, he worked in public relations for the Swiss watch industry and was the director of sports timing for Longines.
He was initially suspended from football for 90 days in 2015, which was later extended to six years (reduced to five on appeal).
Blatter speaks several languages, including German, French, English, Spanish, and Italian.
“Football is a game of simple men, for complicated men to make money from.”
