Sepp Blatter Vacating Post as FIFA President Amid Corruption Scandal - Who’s Replacing?

As reports emerge that he is being investigated for federal corruption, Fifa president Sepp Blatter announced that he will step down as president of world football's governing body.

According to the BBC, Blatter was re-elected last week despite the arrest of some Fifa top officials over corruption charges.

In announcing his resignation, Blatter said "My mandate does not appear to be supported by everybody," noting that he will remain as the head of Fifa until there is a replacement.

The organization has reportedly been marred with corruption scandals for the past years, but now the problem is obviously more serious after seven Fifa officials were arrested for "racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering."

More allegations on Tuesday aggravated the situation with claims that Fifa general secretary Jerome Valcke received an alleged $10 million bribe for South Africa's bid to host the 2010 World Cup.

In an update, Telegraph mentioned that South Africa admitted paying Fifa $10M though the country denied that it was a bribe. The embattled country explained that the amount was made to "an approved programme above board does not equate to bribery."

South Africa sports minister Fikile Mbalula challenged those people throwing the allegations to prove what they are saying.

"We refuse to be caught up in a battle of the United States authorities and Fifa. Our purpose and intent is to ensure that we respond to the allegations levelled at our country, government and its citizens. We categorically deny that our country and government have bribed anyone to secure the rights to the 2010 World Cup," Mbalula said.

Meanwhile, Forbes noted that the indictment of the U.S. government could have put pressure to Blatter forcing him to eventually step down.

Meanwhile, Blatter appeared to be confident when he was re-elected on Tuesday. He even said, "I decided to stand again to be elected because I was convinced it was the best option for football. The elections are closed, but the challenges that FIFA is facing have not come to an end."

After announcing that he will step down from his post, the BBC said that Blatter's replacement will be elected during the next Fifa congress, which will take place between December 2015 and March 2016.

"I will urge the executive committee to organise an extraordinary congress for the election of my successor at the earliest opportunity. This will need to be done in line with Fifa's statutes and we must allow enough time for the best candidates to present themselves and to campaign," Blatter added in the BBC report.

Some of the personalities vying for the Fifa president position are Prince Ali bin al-Hussein, who lost to Blatter during last week's elections despite his strong campaign, and Michel Platini, the head of Europe's governing body, UEFA, the New York Times noted.

Former Manchester United chief executive David Gill is also reportedly being eyed fo the position despite him having the shortest stay on the executive committee in the history of Fifa. He earlier expressed his intention to resign if Blatter did not.