Blatter resigns as Fifa president
Blatter resigns as Fifa president
The 79-year-old, who has held the post for 17
years, has stepped down in light of the corruption
scandal which has blighted the world governing
body
Sepp Blatter has announced he will step down as
president of Fifa, calling an extraordinary
congress “as rapidly as possible” at which a
successor will be selected.
The Swiss announced his decision at a hastily-
arranged press conference on Tuesday after his
secretary-general Jerome Valcke had earlier been
implicated in the US Department of Justice’s
investigations into a $10 million payment to
indicted former Fifa vice-president Jack Warner.
“I have thoroughly thought about my presidency
and the 40 years Fifa has played in my life. I love
Fifa more than anything else and I only want to
do the best. I decided to stand again for election
for the good of football,” he told the gathered
media.
“My mandate does not appear to be supported by
everybody. This is why I will call an extraordinary
meeting.
“I will organise an extraordinary congress for a
replacement for me as president. I will not stand.
I am now free from the constraints of an election.
I will be in a position to focus on profound
reforms. For many years we have called for
reforms. But these are not sufficient.
“We need a limitation on mandates and terms of
office. I have fought for these changes but my
efforts have been counteracted.”
Rejoicing | Blatter was celebrating his re-election
only four days before his resignation
Blatter has been president since 1998 and was
re-elected for a fifth term only four days before
his resignation.
However, the Fifa Congress at which he was
given that mandate had been preceded by
adverse publicity caused by the arrest of seven
senior officials at a hotel in Zurich with a total of
14 people then indicted by the US Department of
Justice under charges of racketeering, fraud and
money laundering.
On the same day, Swiss authorities announced an
investigation into corrupt practices by unnamed
persons during the bidding process for the hugely
controversial 2018 and 2022 World Cups in
Russia and Qatar respectively.
Elections to replace Blatter are set to be held
between December and March.
Newsweb Express
