Fifa: under-fire Sepp Blatter makes opening ceremony speech – as it happened

And that brings to a close the live blog for today. Here’s a brief summary of today’s events in Fifaland:

• Sepp Blatter has spoken for the first time since yesterday’s arrests. He said that “We can not allow the reputation of Fifa to be dragged through the mud any longer” but warned that they faced “a long and difficult road to rebuilding trust”.
  
• Politicians weighed in with David Cameron calling for Blatter to resign, and Vladamir Putin accusing the US of ‘meddling’ in matters outside their jurisdiction.
  
• A series of crisis meetings were held at Fifa HQ.
• Blatter rejected Michel Platini’s plea for his ‘friend’ to resign in a one-on-one meeting.
• Uefa decided not to boycott Friday’s presidential election and will back Prince Ali.
• David Gill will resign from Fifa’s executive committee if Blatter is re-elected.
• Platini failed to rule out Uefa nations boycotting the 2018 World Cup.

If you missed it, here’s what Sepp Blatter said earlier:

“The events of yesterday have cast a long shadow over football and this congress. They bring shame and humiliation to football and demand change from us all. We cannot allow the reputation of Fifa to be dragged through the mud any longer.

“I know many people hold me ultimately responsible [but] I cannot monitor everyone all the time. If people want to do wrong, they will also try to hide it.

“Football cannot be the exception to the rule, that is our responsibility at Fifa, and we will co-operate if anyone is involved in wrongdoing. There can be no place for corruption of any kind.

“Let this be the turning point. More needs to be done to make sure everyone in football behaves responsibly and ethically.

“Football deserves so much more and we must respond. Tomorrow, at the Congress, we will begin a long and difficult road.

“We have lost trust, at least part of it, and we must now earn it back, through the decisions we make.

“We like this game … not for greed, not for exploiting, not for power, but because of the love of the game. Solidarity and unity is asked for the game, for the world, for peace.”

Either just before the ceremony or just after he walked off stage, Blatter bumped into a Channel 4 camera crew:

“Surely it’s time to go, Mr President?” questions the interviewer.

“How are you?” comes the response.

And that’s that for the ceremony, though everyone in attendance is invited to the official Fifa dinner for a vol-au-vent.

There’s now going to be a “grand finale” featuring the entire cast of this feast for the eyes and ears.

It’s all very incongruous. Sepp Blatter speaks defiantly about cleaning up his organisation. And he’s followed by a group of yodellers. Then there’s a trio of men in suits talking formally, if briefly, about the fight against corruption, “dangerous imbalances” and difficult days ahead.

And now there is beatboxing.

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Today’s Fiver has now arrived in literally several inboxes around the world. Here’s a taster of today’s tea-time take on events in Zurich:

But there are still people brave enough to stand up for the doctrine of Blatter Infallbility. “This is yet another blatant attempt [by the United States] to extend its jurisdiction to other states,” stormed Vladimir Putin, who seemingly ranks suggestions of wrongdoing by Fifa alongside other fictional notions such as Big Foot, unicorns and Ukrainian sovereignty. “It’s a clear attempt not to allow Mr Blatter to be re-elected as president of Fifa, which is a great violation of the operating principles of international organisations,” added Putin, without specifying whether due process should instead involve tanks and surface-to-air missiles.

Aaannd … back to the dancing and disembodied voiceover.

“Fifa has a credibility problem,” adds Maurer. “Yesterday could go down as a good day if Fifa uses it to put its house in order.”

He warns of a “dangerous imbalance” in Fifa’s standing as a role model for young people.

Swiss Federal Councillor Ueli Maurer: “On behalf of the Swiss government I would like to welcome you, despite the terrible events of yesterday.”

“Switzerland fulfills its international treaty obligations,” he adds.

“I would like to stress that Switzerland strongly condemns any kind of corruption.”

After touching on the corruption allegations, Bach has moved on to education, participation and the 2016 Olympics in Rio.

The IOC’s Thomas Bach is now at the lectern. “These are sad and difficult days for Fifa. And these are also extremely important days.

“We know that the fight [against corruption] is challenging can be very painful.”

He tells Fifa to “take all necessary measures” to address the grave allegations.

Blatter and Fifa are now (unsurprisingly) receiving support from their city. “Let me be clear – the city of Zurich is glad to be Fifa’s partner,” said Filippo Leutenegger, a member of the city council.

This is one of the more restrained moments:

For a long time there’s been something almost Orwellian about Fifa. And this opening ceremony is doing little to change that sense. It’s An Entertainment. We’ve just had some yodelling. Now there’s a group of folk in traditional Swiss dress dancing in a huddle. You can follow the live stream of this bizarre spectacle here.

Sound familiar? “We are going to put Fifa’s ship back on the right course, in clear, transparent waters. We will need some time, we cannot do it from one day to the next, but our pyramid is intact because the foundation is solid, just as solid as our game.”

Nope, not something Blatter said today, but something he said following his re-election as president in 2011.

We’ll have the full text of Blatter’s speech as soon as possible. Suffice to say, there was nothing you haven’t heard before from the Fifa president. There was an emphasis on the allegations and arrests focussing on “a minority of individuals” and a promise to clean up and rebuild trust. But that’s a refrain that we became very familiar with the last time Blatter was seeking re-election.

A few more lines from earlier: “Many people hold me responsible … I can’t monitor everyone all of the time.”

“We will co-operate with all authorities to make sure all involved in wrongdoing is discovered and punished.”

“I will not allow the actions of a few to destroy the actions of those who work so hard for football.”

And that’s about that. Sepp has moved on to praising the dancers and artists who are about to perform at the opening ceremony.

“Tomorrow, the congress, we have the opportunity to begin on the long and difficult road to rebuilding trust. We must earn it back through the decisions we make, the expectations we place on each other and the way we behave individually.”

“The next few months will not be easy for Fifa. I’m sure more bad news may follow. But it is necessary to begin to restore trust in our organisation. Let this be the turning point.”

“I must stress that those who are corrupt in football are in a minority, as in society. But as in society they must be caught.”

Blatter: “These are unprecedented and difficult times for Fifa. The events of yesterday have cast a long shadow over football and over this week’s congress. Actions of individuals, if proven, bring shame and humiliation on football and demand action and change from us all. We can not allow the reputation of Fifa to be dragged through the mud any longer.”

Sepp Blatter is beginning his opening ceremony speech.

• Nine Fifa officials and four executives of sports management companies were arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of receiving bribes totalling $100m
• Australian police asked to investigate a $500,000 payment to Fifa’s Jack Warner
• Politicians weigh in with David Cameron calling for Blatter to resign, and Vladamir Putin accusing the US of ‘meddling’ in matters outside their jurisdiction
• Series of crisis meetings held at Fifa HQ on Thursday
• Blatter rejects Platini’s plea for his ‘friend’ to resign in a one-on-one meeting
• Uefa will not boycott Friday’s presidential election and will back Prince Ali
• David Gill will resign from Fifa’s executive committee if Blatter is re-elected
• Platini fails to rule out Uefa nations boycotting the 2018 World Cup

You can catch up with all the latest on Fifa here.

Sepp Blatter has arrived for the opening of the 65th Fifa congress in Zurich. The world’s press are kept well back as a relaxed Blatter puts on his jacket and takes to the red carpet, saying nothing.