Published:
Tuesday, June 2, 2015
ZURICH (AP) — FIFA President Sepp Blatter says he will resign from soccer's governing body amid a widening corruption scandal and has promised to call for fresh elections to choose a successor.
The 79-year-old Blatter was re-elected to a fifth term on Friday, two days after a corruption crisis erupted and seven soccer officials were arrested in Zurich ahead of the FIFA congress.
Speaking at a hastily arranged news conference on Tuesday, Blatter says "this mandate does not seem to be supported by everybody in the world of football."
Blatter says that despite his re-election victory "FIFA needs a profound restructuring."
Elections are expected to take place sometime between December and March.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter speaks during a press conference at the FIFA headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, Tuesday, June 2, 2015. Sepp Blatter says he will resign from his position amid corruption scandal and is promising to call for fresh elections to choose a successor. (Ennio Leanza/Keystone via AP)