Sepp Blatter has shocked – and greatly pleased – the soccer world by announcing his resignation as the President of FIFA.
In the middle of a corruption scandal, Blatter said in a news conference today that “FIFA needs a profound restructuring,” adding that he will ask the organization to schedule a new election for his replacement… as soon as possible.
“I appreciate and love FIFA more than anything else,” he said. “And I only want to do the best for FIFA.”
Blatter refused to take questions after his remarks, which no one who follows this global sport saw coming.
Blatter has worked for FIFA since 1975 and has been president since 1998. He was just re-elected for a fifth term last Friday.
Last Wednesday, FIFA was rocked by the arrests of multiple executes on charges of racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering as part of a U.S. prosecution that indicted 14 people overall.
A separate criminal investigation by Swiss authorities into how the 2018 and 2022 World Cups were allocated is also under way.
Blatter, who was NOT indicted by the Justice Department, said he will serve as president until a new one is elected.