1975
■ Blatter joins FIFA as its director of technical programmes.
1981
■ Appointed general secretary by the FIFA executive committee.
1990
■ Given the powers of FIFA CEO while still retaining the title of general secretary.
1998
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■ Elected FIFA president, succeeding João Havelange, who had served in the post for 24 years and oversaw the World Cup expanding from 16 to 32 teams along with the addition of the FIFA Confederations Cup and the Women’s World Cup.
1999
■ Proposes moving the World Cup to a two-year cycle.
May 9, 2002
■ Eleven FIFA members launch a criminal investigation against Blatter, with allegations of corruption at FIFA set to be presented to a Swiss judge. The claims were subsequently withdrawn.
May 29, 2002
■ Re-elected as president, defeating challenger Issa Hayatou and receiving 139 of 197 votes cast.
Oct. 20, 2003
■ Ends his campaign to have the World Cup occur every two years.
May 17, 2004
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■ FIFA votes 14-10 to award the 2010 World Cup to South Africa, marking the first time it will be held in Africa. Blatter: “We can all applaud Africa. The victor is football. The victor is Africa.”
March 2, 2007
■ FIFA admits to exaggerating World Cup viewership figures and promises only to use verifiable data for future reports.
May 31, 2007
■ Re-elected for a third term, running unopposed.
July 7, 2010
■ Proclaims the 2010 World Cup a success, with more than 500,000 fans traveling to South Africa throughout the tournament.
Oct. 18, 2010
■ Allegations that FIFA officials were prepared to sell their votes for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup surface in a report from the London Times. Two officials, Amos Adamu and Reynald Temarii, were banned a month later from participating in the vote after an ethics committee investigated the claims.
Dec. 2, 2010
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Russia and Qatar (below) were upset winners for 2018 and 2022.
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■ FIFA awards the 2018 World Cup to Russia and 2022 World Cup to Qatar in picks that were considered to be massive upsets. England was among the other candidates to host in 2018, and the U.S. was a bidder for 2022.
Dec. 13, 2010
■ Blatter, defending the 2018 and 2022 host selections: “Don’t speak about money. This has nothing to do with money. It has to do with football development.”
Dec. 17, 2010
■ Says he supports playing the 2022 World Cup in the winter due to the extreme heat in the summer in Qatar.
May 20, 2011
■ Announces that there could be a re-vote on the 2022 World Cup after corruption allegations surface from a London Times report; FIFA announces that an investigation will be conducted.
June 1, 2011
■ Re-elected for a fourth term, again running unopposed.
Oct. 21, 2011
■ Announces a plan to reform soccer’s governing body by 2013, unveiling a program to tighten regulations that have led to sanctions against several officials accused of corruption. He also announced a committee of “good governance” that will include fans, politicians, players, referees and judges.
July 17, 2012
■ FIFA appoints Michael Garcia to investigate the allegations of corruption in regard to the World Cup bidding process.
July 26, 2012
■ Pledges to make available all resources that investigators need for the Garcia investigation.
March 4, 2013
■ Announces that FIFA will set up an anti-racism task force, to be run by CONCACAF President Jeffrey Webb.
Sept. 10, 2013
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■ Says that giving Qatar the World Cup was a mistake.
Nov. 11, 2013
■ Reverses course on earlier comments and says the 2022 World Cup will not be held during winter months.
May 12, 2014
■ Announces his candidacy for a fifth term as president.
June 9, 2014
■ A (London) Sunday Times report into Qatar’s 2022 World Cup selection details how former FIFA vice president Mohamed bin Hammam “pulled strings at the top of government and with the country’s royal family to arrange meetings and favours for key voters in the months leading up to the World Cup ballot.” World Cup sponsors Adidas, Sony, Visa and Coca-Cola respond with calls for FIFA leaders to “deal thoroughly with allegations of bribery to secure the 2022 World Cup for Qatar,” according to a Reuters report.
June 10, 2014
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Michael Garcia
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■ Attributes the Qatar World Cup allegations to “racism,” according to a London Guardian report.
Sept. 8, 2014
■ Investigator Garcia sends his report on the 2018 and 2022 World Cup process to FIFA.
Dec. 17, 2014
■ Garcia resigns from FIFA after the organization released what he called an “erroneous” summary of his 430-page report.
Dec. 19, 2014
■ FIFA announces it will release Garcia’s report but will not hold a re-vote for 2018 and 2022.
Feb. 12, 2015
■ FIFA says it has agreed to extend its deal with Fox and Telemundo for English- and Spanish-language World Cup rights in the U.S. through 2026. Competing networks express surprise at not having a chance to bid for the rights, and the suggestion is made that the move aims to appease Fox for FIFA possibly moving the 2022 event to the winter, when it could conflict with Fox’s coverage of the NFL.
March 19, 2015
■ FIFA confirms the 2022 World Cup will be moved to the winter months, with the final to be played Dec. 18 of that year.
May 14, 2015
■ ESPN’s “E:60” reports that Blatter is concerned about entering the U.S. due to an ongoing FBI investigation into bribery and corruption allegations regarding FIFA’s bidding process.
May 27, 2015
■ The U.S. Department of Justice indicts 14 people on charges including racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy related to FIFA operations. Swiss authorities arrest several top FIFA and FIFA-related marketing officials, with plans to extradite them to the U.S. Among those indicted are Webb (the CONCACAF president) and Jack Warner, a former CONCACAF president and FIFA vice president. Blatter is not among those named in the indictments.
May 29, 2015
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■ Despite not getting support from the U.S. and several European countries, Blatter wins a fifth term as president after Prince Ali Bin al-Hussein pulls out of the running as a competitor. Blatter receives 133 votes from 209 voting members on an initial ballot, just short of the two-thirds majority required for victory; Ali receives 73 votes. A second vote would have been taken in which the winner would have been the candidate with the simple majority of votes, but Ali pulled out prior to that vote being taken.
June 2, 2015
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■ A letter dated March 4, 2008, from South Africa FA to FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke reveals payments of $10 million from South Africa FA to Warner (the former CONCACAF president and FIFA vice president). Investigators say the money was in exchange for Warner and two other voting members of FIFA voting for South Africa to host the 2010 World Cup, a vote South Africa won by only four votes (14-10).
June 2, 2015
■ Blatter announces his resignation, saying a vote on his successor will occur in the next few months.
Compiled by Jordan Missal
Sources: SportsBusiness Journal/Daily archives, FIFA, media reports
