Blatter, Joseph S.

Autor: Blatter, Joseph S.
Rok: 1936-

Biogr./Hist. údaje: Švýcarský fotbalový funkcionář, od roku 1998 předseda FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association).
Zdroj: Autoritní databáze Národní knihovny ČR

Joseph "Sepp" Blatter (born 10 March 1936) is a Swiss football administrator who has served as the eighth president of FIFA (the Fédération Internationale de Football Association) since June 1998.From a background in business, public relations, and Swiss and international sports administration, Blatter became general secretary of FIFA in 1981 and served in that role until he was elected president at the 51st FIFA Congress on 8 June 1998, succeeding João Havelange, who had headed the organization since 1974. Blatter was re-elected in 2002, 2007, 2011, and 2015.Like his presidential predecessor Havelange, Blatter sought to increase the influence of African and Asian countries in world football through the expansion of participating teams in various FIFA tournaments, yet has persistently been dogged by claims of corruption and financial mismanagement. Blatter's reign has overseen a vast expansion in revenues generated by the FIFA World Cup accompanied by the collapse of the marketing company International Sport and Leisure and numerous allegations of corruption in the bidding processes for the awarding of FIFA tournaments.On 2 June 2015, six days after the United States government indicted several current and former FIFA officials and sports marketing companies for bribery and money laundering, Blatter announced that he would call for elections to choose a new president of FIFA and that he would not stand in these elections, but he also said he would remain in his position until an extraordinary FIFA Congress could be held for his successor to be elected.Criminal proceedings were announced against Blatter by the Swiss Attorney General's office on 25 September 2015, regarding "criminal mismanagement... and misappropriation".