By Robbie Blakeley, Senior Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Ricardo Teixeira, former head of the CBF (Brazilian Football Confederation) and World Cup Local Organizing Committee (LOC), resigned as the head of both bodies Monday afternoon following months of corruption scandals which refused to be brushed aside. Teixeira had been atop the CBF since 1989.
In a letter he paid huge thanks to the Brazilian fans, reminding them of the two World Cups won under his stewardship, in 1994 and 2002. He described the accusations leveled at him as “unjust.”
Teixeira claimed that he sacrificed his health for the job, but after 23 years will be most renowned for the murky rumors that clung to his name, most notably when the BBC claimed he received illegal payments from the now defunct marketing group ISL.
He is succeeded by 79-year-old José Maria Marin, vice-president of the South-East arm of the Confederation. Marin claims he will serve the rest of Teixeira’s term, which runs until 2015.
Ricardo Teixeira came to power on January 16th, 1989, and alongside the World Cups, Brazil won five Copa Américas and three Confederations Cups during that time. He is also lauded for creating the Copa do Brasil (Brazilian Cup) and transforming the Brasileirão into a twenty team, round-robin format.
Last Friday he had asked for time off to recover from medical issues, which now appear more serious than first assumed.
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