FIFA President Sepp Blatter has revealed that he will resign from his post in the middle of a corruption scandal which has jolted FIFA in the recent days
Blatter has decided to set up an extraordinary Fifa congress to elect a new president for the football’s highest governing body. The extraordinary congress is expected to take place between December 2015 and March 2016.
In a statement the President said: “My mandate does not appear to be supported by everybody.
“The next ordinary Fifa congress will take place on 13 May, 2016 in Mexico City.
“This would create unnecessary delay and I will urge the executive committee to organise an extraordinary congress for the election of my successor at the earliest opportunity.
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“This will need to be done in line with Fifa’s statutes and we must allow enough time for the best candidates to present themselves and to campaign.”
Sepp Blatter has been serving his office for a prolonged period of 17 years since 1998. Last week he was nominated for the fifth time as the head of the organisation in an election where he defeated Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan.
Several Fifa officials were arrested last week on charges of racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering as part of a US prosecution that also indicted 14 people.
Regarding his decision to stand for a re-election and then stepping down, Blatter opined: “Since I shall not be a candidate, and am therefore now free from the constraints that elections inevitably impose, I shall be able to focus on driving far-reaching, fundamental reforms that transcend our previous efforts.
“For years, we have worked hard to put in place administrative reforms, but it is plain to me that while these must continue, they are not enough.
“The executive committee includes representatives of confederations over whom we have no control, but for whose actions Fifa is held responsible. We need deep-rooted structural change.”