Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Joao Havelange: Former FIFA president and IOC member dies aged 100

Former FIFA President Joao Havelange has died at 100 in Rio de Janeiro. The Brazilian born May 1916 in Rio De Janeiro, was predecessor to Sepp blatter at world football's governing body serving from 1974 to 1998. He resigned as FIFA's honorary president in April 2013 after a report by FIFA's ethic chairman Hans-Joachim Eckert ruled he had taken bribes as part of the scandal involving the then International Sports and Leisure (ISL) sports marketing agency and was admitted to hospital the following year with a lung infection.

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He was an International Olympic Committee (IOC) member, the longest-serving member from 1963 until 2011, then resigning because of ill heath. He also competed as an Olympic Swimmer for Brazil in 1936, the year qualified as a lawyer and was a member of their 1952 water polo team in Helsinki.

Before joining the IOC in 1963, he was Brazil's chef de mission for the 1956 Melbourne Games. The present Olympic Stadium used at the currently Rio Games was named in his honour.

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AS FIFA President he led the World Cup's expansion from 16 to 32 teams and increases more new tournament for more competitions in football under his tenure like U-17 World Cup, U-20 World Cup, FIFA Confedrations cup and FIFA Women's World Cup.

His Successor, former FIFA President Sepp Blatter said of him: "He had one idea in his head, to make football a global game with his slogan 'football is the universal language', and he succeeded." 

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