In an astonishing announcement at FIFA HQ in Zurich yesterday evening, Blatter revealed that he will call an emergency congress of FIFA executives to vote in his replacement.
While no timetable has yet been set for the election, officials have said it could take place any time between December this year and March 2016. Blatter will continue in his role until then.
“I have been reflecting deeply about my presidency and about the forty years in which my life has been inextricably bound to FIFA and the great sport of football. I cherish FIFA more than anything and I want to do only what is best for FIFA and for football.
“I felt compelled to stand for re-election, as I believed that this was the best thing for the organisation. That election is over but FIFA’s challenges are not. FIFA needs a profound overhaul.
“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.
“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.
The sudden departure of the head of world football’s governing body came a few days after his re-election to the role – despite the arrests of FIFA officials on suspicion of decades of bribe-taking – was warmly welcomed by soccer administrators in the United Kingdom and the United States, who have been smarting since their countries/interests lost out on the hosting rights for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups which were clinched by Qatar an Russia, respectively.
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