Zurich: Sepp Blatter on Tuesday resigned as president of FIFA in a stunning capitulation to critics as a mounting corruption scandal engulfed world football’s governing body.
The 79-year-old Swiss official, FIFA president for 17 years and only reelected on Friday, calmly told a hastily arranged press conference that a special congress would be called as soon as possible to choose a successor.
“I felt compelled to stand for re-election, as I believed that this was the best thing for the organisation,” he told a hastily arranged press conference at the organisation’s Zurich headquarters.
“That election is over but FIFA’s challenges are not. FIFA needs a profound overhaul,” Blatter added. Blatter did not mention the corruption storm that erupted less than a week ago.
