LONDON: Mohamed Bin Hammam, president of the Asian Football Confederation, has warned FIFA president Sepp Blatter that he could lose touch with the modern game if he stays in the job for too long.

Blatter has been in charge of the global game’s governing body for 10 years and shows no sign of relinquishing his grip on the sport’s most powerful position. But Bin Hammam, a FIFA Executive Member since 1996, believes any president will inevitably stop being a force for modernisation after a long period in power.

While he has no complaints about Blatter’s reign, Bin Hammam is keen to bring in a worldwide term limit that can curtail each presidential spell after a set number of years to make sure the top jobs are always filled by leaders with fresh ideas.

“I want to see a term limit for the presidents of all of the confederations, FIFA included,” Bin Hammam told reporters in London. “The more you stay, the longer you are in power, whether you like it or not and no matter who you are, the less evolution there can be. You create statutes to save you.

“In Asia we are trying to bring in statutes that are transparent. There are some that you feel are meant to suit one person. Some confederations have inherited these statutes, so if the international governing body will insist on a limitation related to the presidencies of the national associations and FIFA, I think that will be a great help. Blatter has proposed that some years back and it was rejected by the executive committee,” he explained.

Meanwhile, FIFA president Sepp Blatter on Friday said he was confident that South Africa would be able to meet its commitments associated with staging the 2010 World Cup. “Be confident in Africa and in Africans — I know they are capable of doing that which they are called to do,” Blatter said on a visit to Belgrade.