Born to a wealthy Belgian immigrant family in Rio de Janeiro in 1916, Jean-Marie Faustin Goedefroid de Havelange graduated with a law degree, but sport was his true love.
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The former Olympic swimmer and water polo player for Brazil had been in and out of the hospital in recent months with respiratory problems. Over the next quarter century Havelange would change the way the world experienced football.
As Fifa president he led the World Cup’s expansion from 16 to 32 teams, with six competitions held under his tenure.
The Brazilian was Sepp Blatter’s predecessor at world football’s governing body, serving from 1974 to 1998. However, there was a less savory side to the clean-living sports powerbroker.
Amid swirling allegations of corruption, Havelange resigned from the International Olympic Committee in December 2011.
He stepped down as FIFA’s honorary president in 2013 following an obligatory investigation into bribery allegations.
He was succeeded as Federation Internationale de Football Association president by his protégé Sepp Blatter, who himself stood down from the post amid a corruption scandal.
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The Engenhao stadium in Rio de Janeiro, where numerous Rio Olympic events are now underway, was named in his honor.
