Sepp Blatter Showered With Fake Money By Simon Brodkin

Simon Brodkin, An English comedian, has announced an election to decide his successor during a press conference and showered Sepp Blatter, the now ex-president of the world soccer body, with dollar bills. Embattled FIFA boss Sepp Blatter was showered in fake dollar bills, who has confirmed that he will not be a candidate in the election.

All 209 member associations will be invited. Blatter told a press conference where the vote to decide who will lead world soccer's governing body would be held on February 26 in Zurich, and he was repeatedly asked whether he would stand for re-election. But his press conference was overshadowed by comedian Lee Nelson, who threw a bundle of fake cash in front of the bemused FIFA president.

Nelson, whose real name is Simon Brodkin, was immediately taken away by security but threw another bundle of notes at a clearly shaken Blatter as he left, saying "here you go Sepp". Blatter blamed the incident on "a lack of education". After the stunt, Brodkin tweeted a photo from one of his accounts, showing himself with the message: "Excited to be at FIFA meeting Sepp Blatter to secure the #NorthKorea2026 World Cup."

Blatter,was re-elected FIFA president earlier this year after his only rival, Jordan's Prince Ali bin Al Hussein, withdrew after gaining 73 votes to Blatter's 133 in the first round of voting. Blatter has repeatedly said that he will not stand again but has reneged on that promise before, saying his election in 2011 was his last before changing his mind.

The timing of the congress is later than many expected, with Europe's governing body UEFA widely reported to have pushed for a December vote. FIFA statutes say candidates need to have the written support of five member associations to stand and must announce their intention to run four months ahead of a vote, meaning the deadline for nominations is October 26.

FIFA also announced it was setting up an 11-man taskforce to propose reforms aimed at cleaning itself up after a series of scandals. The task force would present its conclusions to the executive committee in September, and this in turn would suggest reforms to FIFA's congress which has the power to alter the federation's statutes.