Havelange's Presidency
Rous was replaced in 1974 by the Brazilian, João Havelange. He was elected on a manifesto of dynamism and political grounds transforming the rather staid organisation into a dynamic enterprise brimming with new ideas. FIFA became a much more commercial institution at this time. He increased the number of teams in the World Cup to 24 for the 1982 World Cup and then to 32 at the 1998 World Cup. He also brought Israel into the international game (affiliated to UEFA) and saw FIFA spread across the globe, with small nations such as Guam, Lesotho and Montserrat joining. This was aligned with his policy on using football to aid the development of developing countries.
Read more about this topic: History Of FIFA
Famous quotes containing the word presidency:
“... how often the Presidency has simply meant that a man shall be abused, distrusted, and worked to death while he is filling the great office, and that he should drop into unmerited oblivion when he has left the White House ...”
—M. E. W. Sherwood (1826–1903)