Joao Havelange Hospitalized With Lung Infection

Joao Havelange, 98, has been hospitalized with a lung infection.

The former FIFA president was admitted to a Rio de Janeiro hospital on Wednesday. Doctors report that he is in stable condition and is expected to be released soon.

Havelange was president of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) from 1958 to 1973, a time widely considered to be Brazilian soccer’s most successful period. In 1974, he was elected FIFA president, a position he held for six terms until 1998. Havelange played a large role in the transformation of soccer into a global sport, and he is often credited with introducing the sport to foreign markets such as Africa and the United States.

He resigned as FIFA president in 1998 after allegations of corruption surfaced, but remained FIFA’s honorary president until 2013.

Efforts to contact Havelange’s office were unsuccessful.

Written by Andrew Murrell.

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