Jean-Marie Faustin Goedefroid "João" de Havelange (May 8, 1916 – 16 August 2016) was a Brazilianassociation footballadministrator. He was the 7th President of FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association).[1] He was elected to the position in 1974. He resigned in 1998, after 24 years in charge.[2]
He was elected as an honorary president of FIFA in 1998 after he left office. He resigned in 2013 due to "health and personal reasons".[3]
Writing in June 1998, as Havelange was leaving FIFA, and before the eruption of most of the controversies surrounding him, The New York Times commented on Havelange's leadership:
"[Havelange] ran FIFA, as the world soccer federation is known, with a combination of autocratic rigidity and progressive reform. In 24 years as FIFA's president, Havelange was credited with building the Zurich-based organization from a fledgling operation in a private residence to a worldwide force that oversees a $250 billion-a-year international industry. With Blatter working by his side for 17 years and implementing his programs as FIFA's general secretary, Havelange increased the size of the World Cup from 16 to 32 teams, introduced a World Cup for women, gained a place for women's soccer in the Summer Olympics and built up marketing and television rights fees to the point that each of FIFA's 204 national federations will receive $1 million from the 1998 World Cup."[5]
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