Former FIFA President JOÃO HAVELANGE, the Brazilian businessman who “built soccer into a multibillion-dollar international enterprise over his 24 years as the autocratic head of the sport’s world governing body but who was later implicated in a scandal involving millions of dollars in kickbacks,” died yesterday in Rio at the age of 100, according to Richard Goldstein of the N.Y. TIMES. When he was elected in ‘74 as FIFA’s first non-European president, the organization had a “modest-size staff” and “meager funds with which to preside over the World Cup.” When Havelange completed his sixth and final term in ‘98, he estimated that FIFA had $4B in its treasury and that “international soccer had become a $250-billion-a-year international industry.” Havelange also was the “longest-serving member” of the IOC when he resigned in December ‘11 after 48 years, “citing health reasons” (N.Y. TIMES, 8/17). BLOOMBERG NEWS’ Cone & Panja noted membership in FIFA increased from 139 national associations in '75 to more than 200, "while several competitions were added," including U-17, U-20 world championships and the FIFA Women’s World Cup. By attracting global sponsors such as adidas and Coca-Cola and increasing the value of TV rights for the World Cup, Havelange was “able to expand the game beyond its traditional strongholds of Europe and South America" (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 8/16).
MIXED LEGACY: The FINANCIAL TIMES’ Ahmed, Sugden & Tomlinson wrote Havelange's legacy "became tainted late in his life when details emerged" of his complicity in a $100M bribery scandal that engulfed FIFA. As "pressure built" over the running of FIFA by his successor SEPP BLATTER, accusations of corruption "caught up with Havelange." He resigned in ‘13 as honorary FIFA president following the publication of an internal ethics report that "linked him to the affair" (FT.com, 8/16).
For more reaction to Havelange’s passing, see today’s issue of SBD Global.
