Sepp Blatter has announced he is to resign as
president of FIFA and an election will be held
to decide his successor.
Sepp Blatter has announced he is to resign as
president of FIFA.
The head of football's world governing body
for 17 years, who was re-elected for a fifth
term only last week, has called for an
emergency FIFA congress to be held as soon
as possible at which his successor will be
elected.
Prince Ali of Jordan, who unsuccessfully
opposed Blatter in last week's original
election, has confirmed he will run again for
the presidency and FA chairman Greg Dyke
heralded the day as "brilliant for world
football" .
Speaking at an unprecedented, emergency
press conference following another day of
allegations of corruption and bribery within
his organisation, Blatter confirmed: "I will
organise an extraordinary congress for a
replacement for me as president and I will not
stand.
"While I have a mandate from the
membership of FIFA, I do not feel that I have
a mandate from the entire world of football –
the fans, the players, the clubs, the people
who live, breathe and love football.
"Therefore, I have decided to lay down my
mandate at an extraordinary elective
congress. I will continue to exercise my
functions as FIFA president until then and I
will urge the executive committee to organise
that at the earliest opportunity."
However, the Swiss attorney general has
assured Blatter in a statement that "he is not
under investigation and his resignation does
not affect ongoing criminal proceedings in
suspicion of criminal mismanagement and
money laundering".
Blatter is therefore free to implement a
number of reforms he has confirmed will take
place before his successor is elected. The
Swiss says FIFA needs "deep-rooted
structural change" that he hopes will involve
the size of the executive committee being
reduced and its members going through
integrity checks.
And the UK government's Culture, Media and
Sport secretary John Whittingdale MP urged
these changes to take place immediately,
stating: "We welcome his belated
announcement today but this is only the
beginning of the process of change we need
to see from FIFA."
FIFA's sponsors have also been welcoming
the news, with a statement from Coca Cola
reading: "We respect Mr Blatter's decision.
The announcement today is a positive step
for the good of sport, football and its fans."
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