He extended the lovely game, but was also unaccountable.
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“He was one of the most progressive thinkers who was never starved for ideas and the quantum leap that took place in the sport was as a result of his vision which he shared even after he officially took his exit from football”.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino lavished praise on Havelange, saying the “whole football community should be grateful” for his contribution.
After becoming vice-president of the Brazilian Sports Confederation, he served as president from 1958 to 1973, before he became the most powerful man in world football.
Under Havelange’s watch, the World Cup expanded from 16 to 32 teams and was extended to women’s soccer, as well.
He resigned from that role following an investigation into allegations that he had accepted bribes to grant lucrative World Cup contracts to marketing company ISL.
He avoided an investigation into the claims, which he denied, by quitting his International Olympic Committee post in 2011. Havelange wasn’t named in the indictment.
But Havelange’s bid for the top job at FIFA came during his country’s emergence as a world power in football, dovetailing, not coincidentally, with hype surrounding Pelé reaching a fever pitch.
As head of FIFA, Havelange was credited with a number of changes in soccer around the world.
Havelange served as Federation Internationale de Football Association president longer than any of his predecessors, except Frenchman Jules Rimet, considered the “Father of the World Cup” for his leadership in establishing the tournament. He ran the organisation from 1921 to 1954.
The Brazilian died in Samaritano Hospital, Rio de Janeiro. Havelange was important in Brazil’s efforts for landing the 2016 Olympic Summer Games as he was a key presenter during their presentation to the International Olympic Committee in Copenhagen.
Jean-Marie Faustin Godefroid de Havelange was the son of Belgian immigrants, a lawyer by training, who made his fortune in the transportation business, operating buses. His father was a mining engineer.
Havelange was a law graduate and businessman, but also a talented sportsman who represented Brazil in both swimming and water polo.
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Prior to that, Havelange resigned in December 2011 as a member of the International Olympic Committee just days before its leadership was expected to suspend him and rule on claims that he took a $1 million kickback.
