Its Official: FIFA President, Sepp Blatter Announces Resignation After 17 Years

FIFA President, Sepp Blatter has dramatically resigned days after he was defiant in re-election for a fifth term and sparking a flurry of speculation over the future of world football and the fate of the next two World Cups in Russia and Qatar. Under intense pressure from ongoing investigations by the FBI and Swiss prosecutors that have already led to 18 senior football executives being charged in the US on charges of money laundering, tax evasion and racketeering, Blatter said he had decided to step down.
But the 79-year-old Swiss, who defeated his Jordanian challenger, Prince Ali bin Al-Hussein on Friday despite the mounting crisis, said he would stay on for at least six months to allow time for a proper election to replace him between December 2015 and March next year.

Hours after Blatter stepped down there were reports in US media that he was being investigated by US authorities as part of their corruption inquiries.

Blatter, who has previously pressed on through an endless series of corruption allegations, told the press conference:

“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.”

Read Sepp Blatter's full resignation statement here: http://bit.ly/1I9zd9V