Former FIFA president and IOC member Joao Havelange has been hospitalised in a Rio, Brazil hospital with respiratory problems.
A spokeswoman for the Samaritano Hospital, Andresa Feijo, told AFP that the 99-year-old’s condition was 'stable.'
Joao Havelange
A spokeswoman for the Samaritano Hospital, Andresa Feijo, told that the 99-year-old’s condition was 'stable.'
Havelange served as FIFA president from 1974 to 1998, when he was replaced by incumbent Sepp Blatter. Havelange remains FIFA's honorary president.
He resigned from the IOC in December last year, citing health concerns at a time when he faced possible suspension over allegations of payments received from former FIFA marketing partner ISL.
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Two other members of the IOC, Issa Hayatou and Lamine Diack, were subsequently sanctioned by IOC president Jacques Rogge as part of the same investigation, although Rogge refused to comment on Havelange following his resignation.
Havelange, a former Olympic swimmer and water polo player, joined the IOC in 1963.
While FIFA president, he expanded the World Cup finals, growing the field from 16 to 32 teams and helping to make it the largest sporting event in the world, significantly increasing FIFA's power and wealth as a result.
Havelange also served as president of the Brazilian Sports Confederation, the body that controlled the national football team, from 1958 to 1975, the period that saw the country win its first three World Cup titles in 1958, 1962 and 1970.
