REMARKS BY FIFA PRESIDENT BLATTER

    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 next ordinary FIFA Congress will take place on 13 May 2016 in Mexico City. This would

create unne  cessary delay and I will urge the Executive Committee to organise an Extraordinary

Congress for the election of my successor at the earliest opportunity. This will need to be done

in line with FIFA’s statutes and we must allow enough time for the best can  didates to present

themselves and  to  campaign.

     Since I shall not be a candidate,  and am therefore now free from the constraints that elections

inevitably impose,I shall be able to focus on driving  far - reaching , fundamental reforms that transcend our previous efforts. For years, we have worked hard to put in place administrative  reforms, but it is plain to me that while these must  continue, they are not enough.

      The Executive Committee includes representatives of confederations over whom we have no

control, but for whose actions FIFA is held responsible.

      We need deep - rooted structural change.

      The size of the Executive Committee must be reduced and its members should be elected

through the FIFA Congress.

     The  integrity checks for all Executive Committee members must be organised centrally

through FIFA and not through the confederations.

    . We need term limits not   only for the president but for all members of the Executive Committee.

I have fought for these changes before and , as everyone knows,my efforts have been blocked.

    This time, I will succeed.

    I  cannot do this alone. Ihave asked Domenico Scala to oversee the introduction and

implementation of these and other measures. 

   Mr. Scala is the  Independent  Chairman of our  Audit and Compliance Committee  elected by the FIFA Congress. He is also the Chairman of the  ad hoc Electoral Committee and, as such, he will oversee the election of my successor. Mr.Scala  enjoys the confidence of a wide range of constituents within and outside of FIFA and  has all the knowl edge and experience necessary to help tackle these major reforms.

It is my deep care for FIFA and its interests, which I hold very dear, that has led me to take this

decision. I would like to thank those who have always supported me in a constructive and loyal

manner as President of FIFA and who have done so much for the  game that we all love.

  What  matters to me more than anything is that when all of this is over, football is the winner