FIFA president Sepp Blatter is resigning as president of FIFA amid a growing corruption scandal, he announced on Tuesday at a surprise press conference.
“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,” he said. “Therefore, I have decided to lay down my mandate at an extraordinary elective Congress.”
There will be an “extraordinary congress” of FIFA and a new president will be elected, at which time he will step down the post he has held since 1998. This will take place sometime between December of 2015 and March of 2016, FIFA says.
Blatter said he will work on “driving far-reaching, fundamental reforms” before he steps down.
“FIFA needs a profound overhaul,” he said.
It’s a shocking move. Two days after nine current and former FIFA officials were arrested in a $150 million bribery scandal, Blatter defiantly stood for a fifth term and was reelected in a landslide. Now, less than a week later, he’s quitting.
