Blatter remarks spark criticism in the US

The FIFA president controversial comments are harshly opposed in the American media

FIFA president Sepp Blatter comments on MLS development were sharply criticized in the United States. Blatter claimed that soccer might be the most popular game in the country yet accused the football authorities of poor development of the professional leagues stating: “there is no very strong professional tournament. They still have just the MLS, but they have not these professional championships that are recognized by the whole American society. It is first of all question of time. I believed when they received the World Cup in 1994 … but now we are already in 2012, it’s now 18 years past. So it must have been done now. Yet they are still struggling.”

One of the leading American websites Goal.com responded to the words calling Mr. Blatter Ignorant, misinformed and naive.

The American football pundit Avi Creditor stated the MLS has progressed immensely with growing attendance, claiming: “17 seasons might look like a huge amount of time to Blatter, it is not in the grand scheme of things, and MLS is still in its active process of creating its own story and moving onto more and more new chapters”.