FIFA says 'working well' as Hayatou takes charge

ZURICH (Reuters) - FIFA, engulfed by a wave of scandals, is still working well in operational terms, acting secretary general Markus Kattner said on Thursday as interim president Issa Hayatou assumed office to replace the suspended Sepp Blatter.

FIFA says 'working well' as Hayatou takes charge

(Reuters)





Blatter was last week suspended for 90 days by FIFA's Ethics Committee along with secretary general Jerome Valcke and UEFA president Michel Platini, pending a full ethics investigation.

FIFA has been engulfed in crisis since May when 14 football officials and sports marketing executives were indicted in the United States on bribery, money laundering and wire fraud charges involving more than $150 million in payments.

Just four days into his fifth mandate, Blatter announced in June that he would step down at an extraordinary Congress which would choose a replacement.

“Operationally, FIFA is working well, as it should, and the best example is the FIFA under-17 World Cup, which is about to kick-off in Chile,” Kattner said in a FIFA statement.

“On top of that, the FIFA World Cup qualifiers are taking place... Our football development activities across the globe continue apace."

Hayatou, who has been president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) since 1988, described FIFA's situation as "unprecedented."

“But we remain focused on the necessary reform process, the Presidential election and on supporting the current investigations," he said.

"To restore public trust is a crucial objective. It is essential that FIFA carries on its mission of developing the game and staging international tournaments.”





(Writing by Brian Homewood in Nyon, Switzerland; Editing by Hugh Lawson)


Share
2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: Reuters


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world
FIFA says 'working well' as Hayatou takes charge | SBS News