Teixeira resigns from FIFA leadership
Reuters - Tuesday 20 March 2012, 01:03
Ricardo Teixeira severed his
ties with football's international governing body on Monday, a
week after he resigned as head of the Brazilian Football
Confederation and organiser of the 2014 World Cup.
Teixeira said he was stepping down from FIFA's executive
committee for personal reasons. He had been a member of the
committee since 1994 and until recently was seen as a possible
successor to FIFA president Sepp Blatter.
The resignation came in a letter to Nicolas Leoz, the head
of the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL).
CONMEBOL did not give any details but said Teixeira's decision
was "irrevocable".
His departure means FIFA has lost four members of its
24-person executive committee to corruption scandals in the last
two years.
Teixeira's resignation brings down the curtain on a long and
controversial career.
He took over as head of the Brazilian Football Confederation
in 1989 and while Brazil won the World Cup twice during his time
in office, the period was also notable for the constant
allegations of corruption and shady business dealings.
A Congressional inquiry in 2001 accused him of 13 crimes
ranging from tax evasion to money laundering and misleading
lawmakers, although no charges were brought.
Last year, the former head of the English Football
Association David Triesman said Teixeira offered to back
England's bid to host the 2018 World Cup in return for favours.
In February, the Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper said a company
linked to Teixeira had overcharged the organisers of a November
2008 friendly match between Brazil and Portugal.
Teixeira denied wrongdoing in all cases but the allegations
came at the same time as c riticism of Brazil's World Cup
preparations were mounting.
Tensions boiled over this month when FIFA's interlocutor for
the World Cup Jerome Valcke criticised the slow pace of
progress, saying "things are not working in Brazil" and that
Brazilian organisers needed "a kick up the backside."
His comments caused a storm of protest and Blatter was
forced to apologise to Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff.
FIFA is worried Brazil is not building stadiums, hotels and
particularly airports quickly enough or on a grand enough scale
to cope with the 600,000 fans who are expected to arrive for the
tournament.