Sepp Blatter To Resign As FIFA President After 17 Years In The Role

Sepp Blatter has announced that he was standing down as president of
Fifa after a week of scandal engulfed football's governing body.

Blatter, who has been president since 1998 and won a fifth term at
last week's elections, called an extraordinary congress "as soon as
possible", saying "a new president will be elected to follow me".

"I will organise extraordinary congress for a replacement for me as
president," said the 79-year-old Swiss. 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.

"I have thoroughly considered and thought about my presidency and the
last 40 years in my life. These years were closely related to Fifaand
the wonderful sport of football. I appreciate and love FIFA more than
anything else.

"I only want to do the best for Fifa and my institution. I decided to
stand again as the best option for football. The elections are closed
but the challenges we face haven't come to an end.

"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
as much as we all do at Fifa," continued Blatter in his statement.

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 that election."

Domenico Scala, chairman of the Fifa audit and compliance committee,
followed Blatter on to the stage to give details of the process for
replacing the president, and future changes to the organisation.

"As the president has stated, these reforms will include fundamental
changes to the way the organisation is structured," said Scala.

Due to existing Fifa rules on the notice periods required for
elections and for candidates to present themselves, the election may
not take place until at least December.

"While the timing will ultimately be up to the executive committee,
the timing of election is likely to be between December and March
[2016]."

Scala went on to say that Fifa will consider wide-ranging changes to
the structure of the executive committee, with further measures to
ensure greater transparency.

"These steps will ensure that the organisation cannot be used by
individuals seeking to enrich themselves at the expense of the game,"
said Scala.

Blatter's announcement comes after Fifa had admitted it paid
$10million destined for the South Africa World Cup to an account
controlled by the disgraced former vice-president Jack Warner. The
payment followed a letter from the South African FA to Fifa secretary
general Jérôme Valcke.

The Football Association chairman Greg Dyke has welcomed Blatter's
resignation, telling the BBC that it is "brilliant for world
football".

Sepp Blatter resigns as Fifa president – read full statement at TheGuardian:
http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/jun/02/sepp-blatter-fifa-resignation-statement-full-text