MIAMI (AP):

FIFA president Sepp Blatter said he came away from the CONCACAF congress yesterday confident he'll be re-elected despite a bid to unseat him by Mohammed Bin Hammam of Qatar, the Asian Football Confederation president.

"I'm sure at the end of the day there will be no change in FIFA," Blatter said.

CONCACAF president Jack Warner said the federation is happy with Blatter's leadership but receptive to Bin Hammam's ideas. Bin Hammam didn't attend the congress because he was unable to attain a US visa, Warner said.

A meeting between Bin Hammam and CONCACAF officials was rescheduled for May 10 in Trinidad. CONCACAF is football's regional governing body for North and Central America and the Caribbean, and is considered pivotal in the outcome of the presidential election June 1.

The congress was closed to the media, an unusual step for such sessions. Afterward, Blatter and Warner sat side by side at a news conference.

"I am, I would say, a relaxed president after the meeting," Blatter said. "I am more than confident now after this congress here that we are going forward with energy and a lot of optimism."

Blatter has led football's governing body since 1998, and the 75-year-old Swiss is seeking a four-year term that he said will be his last. Bin Hammam is his lone opponent.