João Havelange, Who Lead FIFA from 74 to 98, Has Died at 100 Years in Rio

08/16/2016 - 13h11

Former FIFA President João Havelange died on Thursday, the 16th, at 100 years of age, in Rio de Janeiro. He had been hospitalized since last week at the Samaritano Hospital with pneumonia.

FIFA's former president had previously been hospitalized in Rio at least five times since 2012. The most recent time was a little more than a month ago, from the 2nd to the 5th, when he was held and treated for pneumonia as well.

In a brief written note, the Samaritano Hospital informed that the leader "died at the beginning of the morning" and "sympathizes and offers condolences to family and friends of the sports leader". The cause of death wasn't revealed.

The Fluminense Club declared a state of mourning and offered its best room for the funeral. Havelange was an athlete and fan of the three-color Rio de Janeiro institution.

Expansionist policies, exploring underserved markets, questionable alliances, scandals and a tough (and dirty) behind-the-scenes political game, are hallmarks of the two- and one-half decades of Havelange's administration, and continue on into the current years of the institution.

The only non-European President in the history of FIFA, Havelange doubled the number of teams in the World Cup and instituted the lower Cup regional categories carrying out a promise made in 1974 to ensure votes in the election: to give priority to underdeveloped countries.

The most recent choices for World Cup hosts demonstrate how Havelange's legacy is rooted in FIFA. Upon selecting Russia and Qatar for 2018 and 2022, the entity repeated (in an even bigger way) what had been done with the United States in 1994: it chose who had money and interest in promoting and investing in soccer.

It was Havelange who initiated the period of great disputes for the FIFA Presidency. Before him the electoral process was more like a duel between Lords.
To win the dispute, the former leader used all of the weapons that he had at his disposal

100 YEARS IN SOLITUDE

Havelange had visited 186 different countries, had crossed the border between the two Germanies during the Cold War by car and lead FIFA for more than two decades (1974-98) during the transformation of football into a multi-billion-dollar industry.

The greatest leader in the history of the sport in Brazil, Havelange turned 100 years old in May far from the spotlights, preferring isolation instead. Declining invitations to public events, he spent the day with family members in his apartment in Ipanema, in Rio's southern zone.

Since 2011, Havelange had opted to remove himself from public life after authorities began to officially reveal his involvement in the ISL scandal (a former FIFA marketing company accused of passing bribes to leaders).

PLUMMETING PRESTIGE

From that point in time his reputation began to plummet. In the next year, 2012, Swiss Courts ruled the subject of public interest and revealed that he and Ricardo Teixeira, his ex-father-in-law and President (at the time) of the CBF, had received millions in bribes for selling media rights for FIFA tournaments - around R$ 45 million (US$ 14 million).

In 2013, Havelange resigned as honorary President of FIFA. Only a few days later, a report signed by Hans-Joachim Eckert, President of the judgement chamber for the entity's Ethics Committee, classified the leader's conduct in the ISL case as "reproachable" and declared that the money would have to be returned to the entity's accounts, which never took place.

In 2015, when the Botafogo Club ended up calling Nilton Santos and the Olympic stadium was being erected for the Pan 2007 games, the leader's name had been selected for the stadium. City Hall, which owned the space, accepted, but reserved the right to name the locale.

The leader's name at the arena was also omitted by the Rio Games organizers. On the event site, they refer to the 'Engenhão' (its nickname) as simply The Olympic Stadium.

Translated by LLOYD HARDER

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