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Sepp Blatter to FIFA Congress: 'The events of this week unleashed a storm'

Ruben Sprich / REUTERS

Sepp Blatter admitted Friday that the road ahead will be rough for the world football governing body, but vowed to work towards a resolution with an emphasis on increased transparency.

Blatter addressed the arrests that rocked the organization he's led since 1998 as he kicked off Friday's FIFA Congress in Zurich.

The Swiss international made it clear that calls for the postponement of the annual meeting were not the way to resolve the scandal where top FIFA officials were arrested at a luxury hotel Wednesday on corruption charges.

"The events of this week unleashed a storm," Blatter told the audience at the Hallenstadion auditorium.

"It was even questioned whether this congress would go ahead but I am appealing for unity and team spirit to tackle the problems that have been created and to solve them.

"It will not be done in a single day, it will take some time.

"The important point today is to move ahead - and the important point is transparency. We have a problem to solve."

The 79-year-old is running for re-election as FIFA president for a fifth term. He went on to suggest that the situation would have been different if Russia and Qatar weren't chosen as hosts of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, respectively.

Without mentioning the countries by name, Blatter is believed to have referenced the United States and England during his speech, hinting that the current investigation may not have occurred if two other countries were revealed when FIFA held its controversial vote in 2010.

"If two other countries had emerged from the envelope I think we may not have these problems. But we can't go back in time, we're not prophets, we can't say what would have happened."

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