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Australia disappointed but promises to work with Blatter

Frank Lowy (L) with Sepp Blatter in Zurich May 14, 2010. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

By Nick Mulvenney SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia's football chief Frank Lowy has promised to work with Sepp Blatter to try to repair FIFA's tattered reputation despite his disappointment at the reelection of the Swiss as president of the game's world governing body. Australia was the only country to publicly break with the 47-nation Asian Football Confederation's backing of Blatter, who won a fifth term in Zurich on Friday in an election overshadowed by allegations of rampant corruption in world football. Football Federation Australia (FFA), still furious that their bid for the 2022 World Cup won just one vote as Qatar was controversially awarded the tournament, had announced they would back Blatter's Jordanian opponent, Prince Ali bin Al Hussein. "It is a democracy and Mr Blatter was duly elected," Lowy, the billionaire owner of the Westfield shopping centre empire, said in a statement. "He was very clear in acknowledging that FIFA faced a real challenge to restore its standing and Australia will play its role along with other associations to try to achieve this. "The vote secured by Prince Ali was not insignificant and reflects a belief within FIFA and the world football community that governance and other reforms need to be implemented as soon as possible." Australia, which joined the AFC in 2006, was hailed by some for its move in breaking with Asia but might now face a backlash from a leadership which was among Blatter's staunchest allies. Kuwaiti powerbroker Sheikh Ahmad al Fahad al Sabah, the head of the Olympic Council of Asia, recently joined FIFA's executive committee along with his Bahraini protege, AFC president Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim al Khalifa, a FIFA vice president. There are already rumblings in West Asia that Australia's switch to the Asian confederation has effectively reduced the region's allocation of World Cup berths by one because of the strength of the Socceroos. MAKE A DIFFERENCE? Australia's stand against Blatter would have caused disquiet at AFC headquarters in Kuala Lumpur and Lowy perhaps wisely chose to dampen expectations when asked if he would consider backing European calls for a World Cup boycott. "Listen, we are 24 million people out of seven billion people in the world," the FFA chairman told Fox TV in Switzerland. "What? Do you think we can make a difference to what happens in the world? It's just over-expectation of us." Trans-Tasman neighbours New Zealand also voted for Prince Ali and the head of the country's football federation (NZF) said he had expected more support for Blatter's challenger. "Personally I'm very surprised that more people didn't think there was a need to change," NZF chief executive Andy Martin told local media on Saturday. "Given his (Blatter's) tenure in the role, and that a lot of problems have happened in that time, it's quite difficult to accept that he wasn't aware or able to do anything to affect the change that's needed today. "A lot of what's been talked about is around very strong governance and transparency. "Sepp Blatter needs to show strong collaborative leadership and we'll be holding them accountable." NZF had previously backed Blatter, with the 11-nation Oceania Football Confederation unanimously backing the 79-year-old at their regional Congress in Papua New Guinea in January. New Zealand is currently hosting the Under-20 World Cup, the third global age-group football tournament they have hosted during Blatter's tenure, and Martin said he doubted there would be repercussions from their stance. "I'm not expecting any backlashes but we'll take them as they come," he said. "It was clear from our footballing family what needed to be done and we think we've done the right thing. "If FIFA is to move forward it needs to be able to take constructive criticism. "Football's reputation is severely damaged." (Additional reporting by Greg Stutchbury in Wellington; Editing by Peter Rutherford)