The Brazilian’s death was confirmed by the Rio hospital he was being treated for pneumonia in. He was the first not European president of the Federation Internationale de Football Association and for his 24 years at the head of the entity, he transformed the organization and converted its main contest – the World Cup – into a multimillionaire business. All three were subsequently swept up in corruption investigations by Swiss and United States authorities last year that also brought the end of Blatter’s 17-year presidency.
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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.
He helped to transform the group and its flagship event, the World Cup, into a multibillion-dollar business. You have now viewed your allowance of free articles. 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.
However, the former International Olympic Committee member continued to be honoured elsewhere and Rio’s Olympic Stadium bears his name in tribute to the role he played in bringing the Games to Brazil. Havelange based his campaign on giving more prominence to voters outside Europe, adding new World Cup places and more funding.
Havelange was found guilty of accepting £1m in bribes during his tenure from 1974 to 1998. He had been hospitalised since last month, Brazil’s Gazeta Press reported.
He visited 186 countries during his time as Fifa president, and crossed by vehicle the border between the two Germanys in the Cold War era, and saw football transformed into a billion dollar industry.
Havelange entered the sporting world as an athlete – he competed as an Olympic swimmer for Brazil at Berlin in 1936 and was a member of their 1952 water polo team in Helsinki.
An IOC statement said: “Our thoughts are with the family and loved ones of Joao Havelange at this sad time. But I remember that two officials visited me in Zurich, having come from Kabul by vehicle”.
Havelange had a heart pacemaker implanted in 2006.
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