THOSE who have been charged are, of course, innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, and it may, given the magnitude of the case, be years before anyone is prosecuted.

Yet, it would certainly appear it was the pursuit of wealth which resulted in the arrests of seven FIFA officials, including two vice-presidents, and 14 people in total on bribery, fraud and money-laundering charges in Zurich earlier this week.

And that same compulsion could now be set to facilitate the downfall of Sepp Blatter, the president of world football's governing body, even though he has not, to date at least, been implicated in the FBI investigation.

Incredibly, the 79-year-old will, despite the latest crisis to engulf his notorious organisation, still stand for re-election against Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan, his only challenger, today.

However, it would not, given his remarkable longevity in his role and uncanny ability to brush aside the myriad controversies which have blighted his 17 year tenure, be prudent to rule out Blatter prevailing against the FIFA vice-president and taking office for a fifth term.

His organisation's monetary support of minor footballing nations has been consistently disproportionate to their actual needs. With good reason. It means he can secure enough backing to remain in place under the one-country, one-vote system the president is elected using.

The majority of his backers among FIFA's 209 member associations are based in Africa, Asia and South America. Both the Confederation of African Football and the Asian Football Federation ominously reiterated their support for him yesterday.

Certainly, the Swiss football administrator, who yesterday chaired an emergency meeting with the heads of the six international confederations, is outwardly confident. He has publicly stated he is "relaxed" about the scandal.

He also stressed he has no intention of resigning from his position despite being asked directly by Michel Platini, the president of UEFA who was formerly his ally, to stand down following those hastily-arranged talks.

A probe by the United States authorities into alleged bribes dating back over 20 years, totalling £100 million and concerning the awarding of major FIFA tournaments in the Americas has apparently left him unconcerned.

Nor has the Swiss Federal Office of Justice in his homeland launching criminal proceedings into alleged money laundering related to the the 2018 and 2022 World Cups going to Qatar and Russia respectively caused him to reconsider his position.

As they say in Glasgow, you couldn't mark him with a blow torch.

However, the raft of major sponsors, including adidas, Budweiser, Coca-Cola, Hyundai Motor, McDonald's and VISA, to voice their concern in the wake of the arrests and, in the case of the latter, threaten to withdraw financial backing, could ultimately bring about a much-needed change regardless of the result of today's vote.

"We expect FIFA to take swift and immediate steps to address these issues within its organisation," a statement from World Cup sponsor VISA read. "This starts with rebuilding a culture with strong ethical practices."

Coca-Cola echoed those sentiments and expressed the view the beautiful game's showpiece tournament had been "tarnished". Their missive continued: "This lengthy controversy has damaged the mission and ideals of the World Cup. We have repeatedly expressed our concerns about these serious allegations."

It doesn't sound as if a man whose reputation was long ago seriously sullied by persistent allegations about bribery, corruption and other serious financial irregularities, could possibly have a role going forward from here.

FIFA is, like any other sporting institution, highly dependent on the support of these multinational companies as well as broadcasters to fund its activities and events worldwide and its actions are in many respects dictated to by them.

If the association, though, becomes detrimental to the public image of the company, as is currently the case, they will take their highly-lucrative business elsewhere. Where, then, will the money to sweeten world football's minnows originate from?

The previously unthinkable prospect of UEFA following the lead of companies like VISA and ending their association with FIFA has also been mooted if Blatter succeeds in once more clinging on to power.

It would be a radical course of action for the European game's representatives to take. Remaining involved and attempting to bring about change from within may seem a more sensible approach.

But it could happen. UEFA's credibility may be damaged by their continued association with an entity that has lost the faith of supporters across the globe as a consequence of its shadowy practices.

Blatter has famously evaded any personal indictments since rising to power in 1998. But never before has he faced such formidable adversaries as the FBI. The evidence they will have stockpiled during the course of their extensive investigation is sure be damning and watertight.

Indeed, Chuck Blazer, the former FIFA executive committee member who is apparently one of four individuals to plead guilty to corruption charges, has worn a wire to meetings with high-ranking figures.

Even if, as has been the case so often, nothing can be pinned on Sepp Blatter personally, merely allowing impropriety on such a grand scale to take place at the organisation he fronts should ultimately be enough to bring about his demise. Commercial interests will surely see to it.