Football: Sepp Blatter to resign as Fifa president
Blatter cites a "lack of support in the world of football"
Extraordinary congress will take place between December and March 2016
Get involved: Your reaction to Sepp Blatter quitting #bbcsportsday
Image source, AFPIt has been a crazy end to the day with the news that Sepp Blatter's time as Fifa president is finally coming to an end.
Thank you for all your comments. We will back with Sportsday Live tomorrow at the earlier-than-normal time of 07:00 BST. So goodbye for now and we will see you then.
And if Fifa are looking for a choice out of left field, how about Austin Powers star Verne Troyer?
Image source, Verne TroyerInternational Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach: ``We highly respect this decision of President Blatter to step down and to initiate the necessary reforms and to make way for a new leadership of FIFA to drive these changes.''
Image source, Getty ImagesChris Mitchell: FIFA could do worse than Seb Coe as the next president, not a football man but an excellent sports administrator.
Shaun Hurst: OK people, grab your popcorn because Sepp Blatter just resigned. Now sit back and watch as all hell breaks loose at FIFA.
Erlingur Einarsson: Methinks pressure from sponsors had something to do with Sepp Blatter's sudden change of heart.
President of the Dutch football federation Michael van Praag was another candidate who withdrew before the elections on 29 May.
He tweeted: , external I wanted change for the FIFA and this may be a very big step in the right direction. Let's truly accomplish
The Dutch federation (KNVB) have said in a statement:, external "Given the campaign conducted by Michael van Praag and the KNVB, it will be clear that the Netherlands Football Association welcomes Sepp Blatter's resignation as president of FIFA.
"The fact that he has chosen to step down only days after his re-election is striking but no cause for speculation as far as the KNVB is concerned. Everyone who has seen the images and followed the news knows that Mr Blatter's reelection failed to bring the peace he wanted."
Richard Conway
BBC Radio 5 live sports news correspondent in Zurich
"I'm told Prince Ali remains at the disposal of the national associations for the new Fifa election."
Mr Blatter's rival for the recent election, Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan, had forced a second round of voting but withdrew.
Image source, International New York TimesSome first editions of tomorrow's papers are coming out and Blatter has made the front page of the International New York Times.
Image source, Getty ImagesWorld Cup sponsor Coca-Cola has called Blatter's resignation "a positive step."
"Our expectation remains that FIFA will continue to act with urgency to take concrete actions to fully address all of the issues that have been raised and win back the trust of all who love the sport of football.
"We believe this decision will help FIFA transform itself rapidly into a much-needed 21st century structure and institution."
Image source, AFPFormer Portugal midfielder Luis Figo had run for the presidency in the latest election, before withdrawing in the week before the vote.
"A good day for FIFA and for football," he said on Facebook., external "Change is finally coming. I said on Friday that the day would come sooner or later.
"Here it is! Now we should, responsibly and calmly, find a consensual solution worldwide in order to start new era of dynamism, transparency and democracy in FIFA."
Statement from world football players' union FIFPro on Blatter's resignation.
Image source, Getty Images"FIFPro welcomes the decision of FIFA President Sepp Blatter to resign as this creates an overdue and unique opportunity to fundamentally reform the governance of football.
"The world's professional footballers, through FIFPro, have a pivotal role to play in the structural overhaul of football. We are deeply committed to achieving this critical outcome in conjunction with all of the game's key stakeholders.
"FIFPro insists that only flawless governance will be acceptable to protect the wellbeing of the players and the integrity of the game. The reform effort will fail without the direct involvement of the players."
So the above graphic shows the current structure of Fifa. That may not be the case in the future.
In announcing his decision to quit, current president Sepp Blatter said: "The executive committee includes representatives from federations over whom we have no control but for whose actions Fifa is being held responsible. We need deep-rooted structural change."
Image source, Getty ImagesIf you read most of the world's media, Sepp Blatter's ability to hang on to power at Fifa was nothing short of miraculous
After years of negative headlines, the frenzy has reached fever pitch in the wake of the US allegations of corruption at the highest level in football - even though Mr Blatter himself has not been implicated.
And running through all this coverage was a theme - bemusement that much of the football world kept voting for him.
Nowhere was Sepp Blatter's support stronger than across Asia and Africa. So why did most of the representatives from those two continents vote for him again? Read this feature and all will be revealed.
Image source, AFP1 June 2015: Blatter is re-elected as FIFA president for a fifth term after his challenger, Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein, withdraws during a second round of voting.
Football Association vice-chairman David Gill rejects a place on FIFA's executive committee under Blatter.
Independent FA director Heather Rabbattslater resigns from FIFA's anti-discrimination task force.
June 2 2015: Fifa general secretary Jerome Valcke denies allegations that he made key payments in a bribery scandal.
Blatter announces he is to resign as FIFA president.
Image source, AFPMay 2015: Seven FIFA officials are arrested in dawn raids at a hotel in Zurich. They are later charged by US authorities along with two other FIFA officials and five corporate executives over allegations of racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering conspiracies spanning 24 years. They are accused of breeding decades of "rampant, systemic, and deep-rooted" corruption within FIFA by the US justice department.
The Swiss authorities raid FIFA headquarters, gathering data and documents for their separate investigation into allegations of criminal mismanagement and money laundering in connection with the allocation of the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids.
November 2014: Hans-Joachim Eckert, chairman of the adjudicatory chamber of FIFA's independent ethics committee, publishes a 42-page summary of Garcia's investigation, effectively confirming Russia and Qatar as World Cup hosts after finding breaches by them were "of very limited scope".
FIFA lodges a criminal complaint with the Swiss attorney general over "possible misconduct" by individuals but insists the investigation into the bidding process for the two World Cups is concluded. Garcia calls the summary "incomplete and erroneous" and launches an appeal against it.
December 2014: Garcia loses his appeal against Eckert's review of his report and resigns as FIFA's independent ethics investigator, criticising FIFA's "lack of leadership" and saying he cannot change the culture of the world governing body.
FIFA executives agree to publish a "legally appropriate version" of the report. This has yet to happen.
Image source, AFPJuly 2012: FIFA commissions a report into allegations of corruption in world football which is led by former US attorney and newly appointed head of FIFA'S ethics committee Michael Garcia.
June 2014: The Sunday Times reports it has received "hundreds of millions" of documents which it claims reveal that disgraced former FIFA executive committee member Bin Hammam had made payments to football officials in return for votes for Qatar.
September 2014: Garcia completes his 430-page report into corruption allegations and sends it to FIFA.
Image source, Getty ImagesDecember 2010: Russia is awarded the 2018 World Cup and Qatar gets the 2022 hosting rights, days after the BBC broadcasts a Panorama expose of FIFA.
May 2011: FIFA suspends presidential candidate Mohamed Bin Hammam and vice-president Jack Warner pending an investigation into claims they offered financial incentives to members of the Caribbean Football Union. It drops a complaint against Blatter.
The Qatar 2022 team deny any wrongdoing with their winning bid, saying their name has been "dragged through the mud for no reason".
June 2011: Bin Hammam is found guilty of bribery and banned from all international and national football activity for life. Warner escapes investigation after resigning from his position.
Right, back to Sepp Blatter quitting as Fifa president.
And it could be second time lucky for David Ginola. The former Newcastle, Tottenham and Aston Villa midfielder, backed by a betting company, announced his intention to run for the Fifa presidency in January before withdrawing two weeks' later.
Image source, Getty ImagesBut the Frenchman is back. And he has already stated his intention to stand as a candidate in the forthcoming Fifa presidential election.
Once again we briefly step away from the Sepp Blatter news and this time our focus is on AC Milan.
Image source, Getty ImagesCarlo Ancelotti, whose old job in charge of Real Madrid is set to be taken by Rafael Benitez (see 19:00 BST), has been talking about potentially taking charge at AC Milan.
Ancelotti, who was in charge of AC Milan from 2001 to 2009, writes on Twitter: "I thank AC Milan for their interest. It's hard to say no to a club that I love so well. I have to rest. I wish you the best."
So, that a no from Ancelotti then.
Image source, Manchester UnitedFormer England captain Rio Ferdinand has tweeted:, external David Gill.....do the honourable thing & please step forward