A Week After Re-Election, FIFA President Sepp Blatter To Step Down - Nike (NYSE:NKE), Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA)

FIFA President Sepp Blatter announced on Tuesday he will step down from his position despite being re-elected as President during FIFA's annual Congress last week. Blatter's reign has been plagued with corruption scandals, particularly over allegations of financial mismanagement and granting the 2022 World Cup to Qatar. What made the announcement more alarming is the country's treatment of workers hired to build the infrastructure for the games. According to

UN Watch, more than 4,000 migrant workers will die to build the needed infrastructure for the World Cup. Blatter will remain resident until a successor is chosen during an extraordinary general meeting which can not occur until at least December due to existing FIFA rules and regulations. FIFA's independent ethics committee also said that it will continue looking in to complaints made against the organization despite Blatter's resignation. "I will organise extraordinary congress for a replacement for me as president," Blatter said, according to The Guardian. "I will not stand. I am now free from the constraints of an election. I will be in a position to focus on profound reforms. For many years we have called for reforms. But these are not sufficient. See Also: FIFA Sponsors Weigh Up The Cost Of Scandal Investors may have interpreted the news as positive for Nike Inc NKE as shares slight ticked up after Blatter's announcement began hitting the newswires. The same can be said for Electronic Arts Inc. EA, the publisher of FIFA video games.

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