João Havelange
Jean -Marie Faustin Goedefroid de Havelange, short João Havelange ( born May 8, 1916 in Rio de Janeiro), is a former Brazilian football official and a lawyer since 1936.
From 1974 to 1998 he was the seventh President of the football world governing body FIFA and 1963-2011 he was a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). He was also honorary president of FIFA. Under Havelange's leadership, FIFA became the largest sports association in the world; he owned at 2005 sports associations from more countries than the United Nations members. The 24- year term Havelange is regarded as an important chapter in the history of football.
Havelange was because of his leadership style described as autocratic repeated in the criticism. 2011, confirmed the long-standing suspicion that Havelange had accepted bribes in the millions during his time as FIFA president. He therefore had to withdraw from the Olympic Committee.
Life
Havelange's father was a Belgian arms dealer, who had emigrated to Brazil. He died when João Havelange was 17 years old. At the Olympic Games in Berlin in 1936 Havelange was there as a swimmer at the Games in Helsinki in 1952, he joined as a water polo player. Havelange has studied law at the Universidade Federal Fluminense.
Havelange was the victory of Uruguay in the Maracana in 1950 present, just as with twelve other football World Cup finals.
From 1958 to 1975, Havelange President of the Brazilian Sports Confederation, who was responsible not only for football but also for 23 other amateur sports. But the football was the dominant sport in all Brazil. Havelange was held on June 11, 1974 President of FIFA and held that position until June 8, 1998. He was succeeded by Sepp Blatter.
His critics, who often called him a despot, he replies: " When I arrived at FIFA headquarters in Zurich / Switzerland, since I found an old house and a bit of money in a drawer. When I 24 years later my post acknowledged that FIFA had contracts and possessions worth over four billion U.S. dollars. "
In his home city of Rio de Janeiro, the Olympic Stadium for the Summer Games in 2016 is named after Havelange, it was completed in 2007. Also, the main building of the CONCACAF ( North and Central American and Caribbean Football Confederation ) is named after him.
Exclusion from the IOC, resignation as Honorary President of FIFA
In December 2011, Havelange was the International Olympic Committee (IOC ) asked to resign, otherwise he would have been disqualified for proven corruption from the IOC. Havelange was one of the main beneficiaries of the largest known system of corruption in sports history: ISL / ISMM went bankrupt in 2001; in subsequent criminal proceedings was noted criminal court that ISL had paid in the period 1989-1999 a total of 138 million Swiss francs to bribe numerous sports officials.
Even in 2012 Havelange was nominated " his commitment to social justice " for the Nobel Peace Prize for. Havelange was delighted to have been nominated and affirmed, " have never taken money from anyone ."
Because of the corruption charges against him Havelange resigned on April 30, 2013 back from the office of Honorary President of FIFA.