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TSN Soccer Analyst

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I saw a photograph of Sepp Blatter taken on Tuesday afternoon just seconds after he left the microphone, announcing the bombshell that made the footballing world smile.

It shows him walking out of a door and into the sunny Zurich evening. This is how I would like to remember him. Departing the footballing news for good.

Blatter should be grateful he is remembered at all. You see football fans across the world didn't care too much about what Blatter got up to. Placed in charge of the world's biggest sport he was simply required to govern fairly and make sure his committee made good choices every time they award World Cups. We all know how that worked out.

His legacy is set despite his immediate future being far from secure. He will be remembered by some as a leader of an organization that drowned itself in corruption and he will be remembered by far more as the man who told us that the World Cup in 2-22 (that is what he said) would be played in Qatar!

It has been a watershed week for the sport and FIFA but we shouldn't be too surprised that all of this came to the fore at a quiet time for the sport. Domestic seasons have now run their course, international games are upon us but have yet to start and the transfer window is still four weeks away from opening.

Clearly the events of the FBI investigation, in which seven FIFA officials were arrested in dawn raids across Zurich last week, is an enormous story however we must not forget that the millions across the globe that have gravitated towards a compelling tale clouded in corruption are interested in football first.

Great sports provide us all of much-needed distractions that everyday life can sometimes throw our way and no matter how much the narrative keeps changing around Blatter and his cronies the main thing fans now want to know is will the process to host the 2022 World Cup be reopened. Why? For footballing reasons.

It was only Friday when Blatter was re-elected in farcical circumstances yet the world shook their collective head much more than their fist. There were no public protests from anyone despite there being a number of domestic finals across Europe that could have provided a chance for players, teams and fans to unite against the vote. That's how Blatter's reign needs to be remembered. In 17 long years he took FIFA's brand to incredible heights – speak to any football fan in the 80s or early 90s who don't watch it now and they are stunned how much press FIFA gets – yet the world turned its head and became indifferent to the shenanigans that went on in Switzerland and beyond.

It's hard enough for some to relate to footballers earning obscene amounts of money but if they are placed in a physical environment that brings out a plethora of rare emotions what they ultimately get paid is often forgotten and/or accepted.

It is impossible for people to relate and care regularly about those that run FIFA. Far more care about the criminal inquires that will be opened up about the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar than what was said about many of the executives in the FBI's 47-count indictment.

We should all be thankful for whatever it is that has ultimately ensured that Blatter is departing (there is, surely, more news to follow in time) and we will hope that the governing body tasked with managing this sport will clean itself up but, of course, there are no guarantees.

In the meantime games will go on as they always have and it is these – not Blatter or any other old and rich sporting leader – that will bring us all far more joy.

Before Blatter took over in 1998 very few called it the FIFA World Cup. It was simply the World Cup. It still is in my head. None of the official World Cup logos said 'FIFA World Cup' until 2002.

Contrary to what they believe it does not belong to them. They may think it does and watching those who "won" the right to host the 2022 World Cup lift the trophy the way greats like Diego Maradona, Lothar Matthaus, Dunga and Didier Deschamps did before filthy hands got near it was enough to make football lovers throw up.

The World Cup belongs to the sport itself and is for the fans and the players. This is not some romantic hope or view it is the truth. It is a tournament attended by fans and played for and won by players. Our memories of the World Cup are treasured items inside the areas of our brains reserved for sporting moments and for them we thank those talented enough to perform at the highest level. We do not thank millionaires in boardrooms.

It is fitting, then, that the very next World Cup gets underway in Canada this Saturday and does so without the need for Blatter or anyone to be in charge of FIFA to be here. General secretary Jerome Valcke, who attended Ottawa back in December for the draw, already announced on Monday he would not be attending.

Neither will be missed.

For a month Canada 2015 will provide thousands of fans across the country with memories that will last a lifetime. Players from countries many fans will never have been to will become heroes and inspire youngsters to play the game they will fall in love with.

The recent developments may have dominated the news but when the games start again few will care about Joseph S. Blatter's legacy and the charges against his stooges. Take the World Cup away from Qatar and they will be forgotten for good.

Two small words 'World Cup' placed alongside one another have always had enormous power; attracting people's attention the way no other competition name could.

It never has needed four more letters placed in front of it. Keep walking Sepp. Football fans never really cared about you anyway.