Fifa to hold election for Blatter's replacement in Feb

Rio de Janeiro

FIFA, world soccer's governing body, will hold an election to replace embattled president Joseph "Sepp" Blatter on Feb 26.

The organisation made the announcement on Twitter.

Mr Blatter, who took over in 1998, has promised to step down by early next year. The group's board met on Monday to discuss the election and changes that may prevent some practices that the US Justice Department alleges were part of two decades of "rampant" corruption.

The meeting returns executives to Zurich, where seven colleagues were led out of a luxury hotel into police cars on May 27. The US charges, which include racketeering, money laundering and tax evasion, prompted Mr Blatter to pledge that he would step down - just four…