Watch FIFA President Sepp Blatter announce his resignation

Released transcript: 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 unnecessary 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 candidates 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. I have 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

knowledge 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.