FIFA President Sepp Blatter announced his resignation this evening as the corruption scandal in football’s top governing body gathered pace.
Just four days after being re-elected as president for another four-year term, the 79-year-old Swiss said he would step down and a new president would be elected.
“I will call an extraordinary congress and a new president will be elected,” Blatter said at a press conference in Zurich.
First elected in 1998, Blatter has been beset by recent corruption claims that saw seven senior FIFA officials arrested two days before his re-election.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Justice charged 14 people in a 47-count indictment alleging racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering conspiracies.
In a separate Swiss investigation, FIFA vice presidents Jeffrey Webb and Eugenio Figueredo were arrested over bribery allegations surrounding the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids.
In his statement, Blatter said: “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.”
•Photo shows Sepp Blatter.
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