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WORLD RIGHT NOW WITH HALA GORANI

Blatter quits; Search for survivors on Yangtze River; ISIS strategy meeting in Paris; Boston police shoot and kill terrorist suspect; Acting TSA chief reassigned; Social media reaction to Blatter bombshell; U.S. envoy to Iraq on ISIS fight; Jenner - Call me "Caitlyn"

Aired June 2, 2015 - 15:00:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


[15:00:18] HALA GORANI, HOST: Tonight we have entered a new era in the world of football -- post Sepp Blatter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

What is next for football's governing body after this game changing moment?

Also this hour scores of people are missing after a ship capsizes in China. We'll show you the incredible rescues of a few of the passengers.

And as world leaders re-assess the strategy in the fight against ISIS I will ask the UN special representative for Iraq about some conspicuous

absence from today's meetings in Paris.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Hello everyone, I'm Hala Gorani, we're live from CNN London, and this is The World Right Now.

We begin with breaking news. Nearly a week after being re-elected Sepp Blatter has resigned as FIFA President.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

It shocked everybody and it happened during a last minute press conference following another day of allegations against the world of football's

governing body.

The embattled chief took the stage and closed the curtain on a scandal riddled 17 year stint on top of world football. Listen to what he said,

just a few hours ago.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: FIFA needs a deep restructuring. Although the members of FIFA have confirmed this new mandate to me, this mandate does not have

the integral support of the football world and I mean by that the supporters, the players, the clubs, of all those who live, who breath, and

who love football.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Sepp Blatter it was a shock, it was a surprise, we knew a news conference was being called for 6pm Zurich time and that announcement

certainly was something that caught many people by surprise.

Now there was a slight caveat to the bombshell announcement. Blatter will remain as President until new elections are held.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is why I am going to put my presidency forward to a special elective congress, the date of which a new President can be

chosen for the presidency to succeed me.

I will continue to carry out my functions as President of FIFA until the organization of these new elections.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: So why is he stepping down now? There's a lot of speculation out there but what we do know is that Sepp Blatter has not been implicated in

any criminal activity and we are hearing from the Swiss Attorney General, that Blatter is not under investigation in Switzerland. So what happened?

World Sport's Alex Thomas joins me now live on set.

Alex, so Friday he was asked by Swiss television will you step down, and he replied why would I that would be the equivalent of admitting that I did

something wrong. And just a few days later, he's gone.

ALEX THOMAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And he says it's for the good of the game although he's been given a mandate by the 209 global football associations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

He won the election 133 votes to 73 against Prince Ali bin Al-Hussein of Jordan. He nonetheless said in that speech just over two hours ago in FIFA

House in the picturesque hills of Zurich that I'm going because the mandate does not extend to the media covering the game, the fans that follow the

game, and the clubs.

However there are of course people going to be saying although the Swiss investigation say they're not looking into Blatter, the U.S. investigation

is far more ambiguous. They have not said specifically we're looking at Blatter, but they've not ruled out looking at Blatter. The feeling is that

maybe Blatter is concerned that those being interrogated by U.S. investigators right now have some dirt on him that could yet come out in

the wash.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Although if that was the case why stay as FIFA President for what could be six, seven, eight months until congress can get back together to elect a

new President.

GORANI: It is certainly the question everyone has. Why just a few days ago say I'm not going anywhere, why stand for a fifth election knowing that

pretty much it was for a shoe in for the job, get it and then ultimately step down. What happened - first of all let's talk about global reaction,

because this immediately was on fire on twitter and all over the world.

THOMAS: Yes, number one trending topic and Blatter himself said last week, look football is the most popular sport on the planet, it affects

indirectly or directly more than 1.6 billion people.

[15:05:03] Michal Platini was one of the very anti Blatter voices, one of the very vocal anti-Blatter voices, he's the head of UAEFA, Europe's

governing body. He had a very short statement; it was a difficult decision, a brave decision, and the right decision.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

Was all Platini would say. Luis Figo someone who almost stood in the election but stood down saying it was rigged unfairly in favor of the

incumbent. Said it's a good day for FIFA and for football, change is finally coming and the sponsors played a key part didn't they last week in

all the headlines.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: (inaudible)

THOMAS: Yes, VISA had a very strong statement today, Coca-Cola are the first reaction we've had. The announcement is a positive step for the good

of sport, football and its fans. We believe this decision will help FIFA transform itself rapidly into a much needed 21st century structure and

institution.

So that gives us a clue to another possible explanation. Blatter confirmed to me in the news conference on Saturday when I asked the question about

VISA. He said we are going to meet with sponsors, have they put some pressure on FIFA to have change at the top?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Something changed; we still don't know what it is. What next though? Because now between December and March I believe is when we expect

the election for the - for what will be the new President of FIFA to take place.

Michel Platini the head of UAEFA is a name we're hearing a lot although he voted for Qatar 2022, so that maybe an issue for him. Prince Ali is the

one who stood the Jordanian Prince against Sepp Blatter and lost and he spoke in fact our Christiane Amanpour will get to that in a moment.

So what are some of the? What next in terms of the next head?

THOMAS: Yes and he told our colleague Christiane that he certainly would stand - consider standing again; it depends on the national association.

So Jordan, his own country have to put him forward but you'd think as the first son of the late King Hussein of Jordan he's probably got a fairly

good chance of getting their nod again if he wants to do it and it seems like he's up for it.

I still don't think he's got the charisma. Remember Blatter was hugely popular in Africa, in Asia, in the Concacaf region that's so under the

spotlight. And an African delegate told me look if Platini had stood, maybe we'd have gone for him, he's a star name, we all know him, he's a

celebrity. They didn't really know who Prince Ali was because he's not been in the top of football for very long.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

So that is an option. The Qatar decision is going to stand against Platini but what other options are there? There's not many. And the fear is

someone like Issa Hayatou who's the head of African football and is one of the longest serving and most influential EXCO members in the executive

committee of FIFA, he's got lots of baggage too and is associated to this Blatter cronyism that seemed to have tarnish football's name.

So there's no leading candidate right now, the next few months will be really interesting as candidates sort of shuffle position. It's sounding

more like politics isn't it?

GORANI: Right, right, absolutely. And there's several months - we have at least six months up to eight months so there's a lot of time for potential

candidates to come forward.

Alex Thomas thanks very much.

We're going to be talking a lot more about this surprise resignation and since taking the helm of FIFA in 1998 Sepp Blatter has overseen, as we were

discussing with many of our reporters over the last several days, a massive growth in revenues and the popularity of football has become a billion

dollar game many times over.

Don Riddell will look at his career.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DON RIDDELL, CNN WOLD SPORT CORRESPONDENT: The FIFA boss Sepp Blatter, is a polarizing figure. In some parts of the football world, he is reviled

but these pictures tell a very different story. In the wake of his fifth Presidential election triumph in Zurich, he was revered as if he was a rock

star. Delegates lining up to congratulate and be pictured with him. All wanting to bask in the glory with the most powerful man in world football.

SEPP BLATTER: I like you, I like my job, and I like to be (inaudible?). I'm not perfect, no-body's perfect, but we will do a good job together I'm

sure.

RIDDELL: Even before Wednesday's announcement that FIFA and its members were the subject of two criminal investigations; the organization had been

compared to the mafia, and to dictatorship. Whatever your point of view FIFA is an organization made in Blatter's image.

He spent more than half of his life there. In 1975 he was the Director of Development and Programs. Then from 1981, the General Secretary. And

since 1998 he's been the President, winning five consecutive elections, standing unopposed in both 2007 and 2011.

And in that time FIFA has made a fortune. From sponsorship marketing deals and television contracts, FIFA boasted revenues of $5.7 billion leading up

to and including the last World Cup, with cash reserves of $1.5 billion.

But who is the man behind the presidential cloak?

BLATTER: Crosswords is very important for me because I think it is the best memory technique training.

RIDDELL: In 2006 Blatter gave CNN special access to FIFA's opulent new headquarters in Zurich, and he gave us a sense of what mattered most to

him.

BLATTER: What is important for me is to have a clock somewhere in order to know the time, time is very important in my management style.

[15:10:08] So this is something very special that was always a wish that we should have somewhere, a corner, where silence shall prevail, and here

it is for meditation, when I want to be really alone, no noise, and just think about the problems.

RIDDELL: But he's no stranger to adversity. In 2004 he was severely criticized for his remarks on women's football saying "let the women play

in more feminine clothes, adding they could for example, have tighter shorts."

And responding to concerns about Qatar's laws on homosexuality, he said "gay fans at the 2022 World Cup should refrain from any sexual activities."

Blatter later apologized for both comments.

He was an amateur player once in his native Switzerland but FIFA a leader and a survivor and by his own admission a mafia (inaudible) master.

BLATTER: I was first a runner, then a scorer, and later on a (schemer).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: A look back at the career of Sepp Blatter. Sepp Blatter who today resigned. A new election will be held between December and next March,

March 2016, for a new head of FIFA.

On Monday the former FIFA presidential candidate Jerome Champagne said Blatter was not to blame for corruption inside the organization. Champagne

joins me now by phone from Zurich, Switzerland with his reaction to today's shock announcement from Blatter.

Mr. Champagne, first of all your reaction when you heard Sepp Blatter say he was stepping down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEROME CHAMPAGNE: I'm absolutely shocked and flabbergasted. It must have been a very, very painful decision for him after the victory last Friday.

But definitely he will explain I hope one day in history why he took that decision.

He is keeping the presidency until the successor will be elected but I was also very impressed by the announcement of his strong overall deep routed

program of reforms.

When I was a candidate I called for these reforms to transform the FIFA executive in a real government but not only a platform for the six

continental considerations was mistakes we've seen last week.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: But why, I mean just a few days ago on Friday he told Swiss television why would I step down, that would mean I recognize that I did

wrong. So what happened do you think?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHAMPAGNE: It's impossible to answer your question. It will be just doing speculation on that. So I hope as I said that one day he will write his

memoirs and explain to us what has happened. I am definitely flabbergasted but it shows also that he's putting the interest of the world governing

body of football before his own personal feelings, I'm absolutely sure of that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: What happens now? There are several months now before the election takes place to elect a new FIFA President, six to possibly eight

months. Who are the names that you see now? First of all will you run?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHAMPAGNE: I don't exclude anything but as you know I was the only candidate with a clear detailed financeable realistic platform based on

intimate knowledge of the mechanisms and the problems as well of the world governing body. You know the profile for the next presidency is of course

someone knowing football but we're not going to elect the (inaudible) on the tactical changes on a field of play, we need someone who understands

and loves the world, someone who has the knowledge of the geo-political and geo-strategic issues which covers now the globalization of the game.

So let's wait and see. But as I - as far as I am concerned I do not exclude anything.

GORANI: Well Sepp Blatter himself acknowledges the organization needs a lot of reform, if you were head of FIFA, what would the first order of

business be?

CHAMPAGNE: First let's wait what will be achieved in the 10 months or 11 months to come. But definitely as I said my priority will be the fight

against inequalities. What we have observed in football as we observe in the rest of the world is that these one elites grabbing everything and in

football we have 20 clubs with a cumulative turnout of 6.2 billion euros per year.

The middle class of football for example, clubs like Ajax or (inaudible) in France, are just selling their sporting chances in order to receive money

and to survive financially, not to mention I would say that the 98 person of the rest of football including in Europe but of course like in Africa,

in South America, were exploited just to furnish I would say football raw materials to the wealthiest of our members.

So I think that we need to tackle these, because the globalization of football has been good. But if it's not correctly shared, we will have a

problem.

GORANI: And very briefly do you think Qatar and Russia, 2018 and 2022, should that be looked at again?

[15:15:01] CHAMPAGNE: They are being looked at again for the moment by the Swiss Federal Police. And as you know in democracy the principle of

innocent until proven guilty is very important so these principles should also benefit not only these two countries which won the hosting of the

world cup but also the persons who are investigated.

But as I've said when I was a candidate we need to publish (Michael Goss') report. Then if there's enough evidence linking some individual

(inaudible) and the result of the votes we would have to re-vote.

GORANI: Jerome Champagne thanks very much for joining us. Jerome Champagne is in Zurich, Switzerland. We appreciate your speaking with us

this evening.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Coming up more on that shock news from Zurich.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

Sepp Blatter resigns as the chief of world football. We have reaction and a look at what might be next.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(END COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: It's been an incredible day in world sport; let's get back to our top story. Sepp Blatter says he will be standing down as President of

FIFA.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

Blatter was re-elected as FIFA's President, Friday. He now says he will resign, it shocked everybody, gasps across the newsroom even today.

However we must stress the Swiss Attorney General says it is not investigating Blatter but the FBI says it is looking into the presidency

and the executives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Qatar's winning bid for the 2022 World Cup has been mired in controversy for a long time. Today a source with the committee spoke to CNN and had

just two words to say; no comment.

Journalist Jonathan Calvert has been investigating the corruption scandal for The Sunday Times. He's the author with Heidi Blake of the book The

Ugly Game: The Qatar Replot to Buy the World Cup, and he joins me now live from London.

What was your reaction when you heard Jonathan that Sepp Blatter was resigning today?

JONATHAN CALVERT: Oh, I was gobsmacked. I was really surprised; I don't - really hadn't expected it at this stage. He was - I saw him in Zurich on

Saturday morning at a press conference, his victory press conference, and he looked like he was completely defiant and he was going to carry on for

the rest of time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

So something's happened I think in the last few days and I don't know it is and hopefully we will find out.

GORANI: Yes and I think everyone's wanting to find out because something has changed clearly because as late as Friday he was telling journalists he

has absolutely no reason to step down and will not admit any kind of wrongdoing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Let's talk a little bit about Qatar 2022. Do you think this will force a reexamination of the 2022 World Cup being held in Qatar?

CALVERT: Yes, I would imagine that the people in Qatar are actually quite worried about it. Because Blatter has very much been their greatest

protector for a long time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

And there are really serious allegations, evidence about how Mohammed bin Hammam the top football official went around buying a ground sort of

support for their country's bid.

[15:20:08] And you know we've been writing about it quite a lot and they didn't win the bid fairly, and if there was a proper investigation into it

which was never going to take place while Blatter was in charge, then they would be stripped of the World Cup and there'd have to be a re-run.

GORANI: And this is what the Swiss investigation is centering on, is the Russia and the Qatar - the Russian and the Qatari wins for 2018 and 2022.

CALVERT: Yes, I think it's taken FIFA by surprise. I think there were certain allegations that came out of FIFA's internal investigation that

were passed on to the Swiss prosecutors and the Swiss prosecutors seem to have taken it - have the bit between their teeth and they are now turning

this into a full blown investigation into both bids. I mean it's quite extraordinary.

And at the same time of course you have the major investigation into FIFA officials over in the U.S. I think this is unprecedented and we all

thought last week that how could ever - how could Sepp Blatter survive all of this. On the other hand he quite clearly just cruised through the

election and seemed to be on a course to carrying on. So today's events are a real shock.

GORANI: So what's going to change do you think at FIFA with Sepp Blatter announcing that he is stepping down?

CALVERT: I think you've got to understand FIFA is an organization that's run from the top. This is a President that allowed corruption to thrive on

his watch. He has turned a blind eye to lots of different practices from lots of rather shady people and he's done that because that's his way of

keeping power. If he were to crack down on them, he would lose their support. And now that he's gone, it's time to sweep away through the

executives and actually have a new executive team who will believe in things like transparency which has been sadly lacking in FIFA over the

years. And hopefully carry out proper investigations.

GORANI: And briefly one of the challenges is going to be that anyone who has been in football for a very long time is going to have some level of

backage right? I mean if you've worked in this field. So how do you find someone with enough experience but also someone who's willing to reform the

organization with a fresh outlook?

CALVERT: I'm sure there are plenty football officials who are not mired in corruption. I'm sure that they can find someone. But it is a challenge, I

agree. I mean you know I don't know who it's going to be and it's going to be very divided because you, you know at the moment you have a very stark

contrast between Europe and America as against Asia and Africa, and they'll both presumably want their own candidate and it could be a really close

fight.

GORANI: All right, journalist Jonathan Calvert, co-author of The Ugly Game. Thanks very much for joining us this evening on CNN, we appreciate

it.

CALVERT: Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: This is The World Right Now we'll have an update on other news we're following in just a moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

Including a pleasure cruise turns into a nightmare in China. Hundreds of passengers trapped inside a sunken ship and hopes of rescuing them are

fading. We'll have the latest.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(END COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:25:01] GORANI: Most of the passengers on a Yangtze River pleasure cruise had gone to sleep when a violent storm struck on Monday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

And one of the 15 survivors tells China's (Xinhua) News Agency that he barely had time to grab a life jacket before the ship sank.

China's weather office now confirms that there was a tornado in the area and hopes are fading that any of the 443 passengers trapped in the ship

will be found alive.

David McKenzie reports from China.

DAVID McKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A harrowing escape after hours trapped below. Chinese rescuers pulled this 65 year old woman to

safety after frantic searching.

She made it out; hundreds of others haven't after the Eastern Star overturned with more than 400 passengers on board. Rescuers searched

Tuesday for the hundreds still missing. Local media reported they could hear knocks within the ship's hull. And rescuers using hammers tried to

make contact for proof of life.

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): As long as there's even a little hope we'll give it 100 percent and we'll absolutely not give up.

McKENZIE: According to state media the ship's captain and chief engineer made it out alive. They said the ship had been hit by a tornado and

upended in 50 feet of water. Now they are in custody of the authorities and being questioned. China's weather service confirms there was severe

weather at the time.

The frantic search continues from the staging ground next to the Yangtze but as the hours tick by the hope fades, and the weather is playing its

part making it more difficult to try and find anyone trapped in the hull.

Passenger's families wept as they gathered to wait for news; news that for too many could be full of grief.

David McKenzie, CNN on the banks of the Yangtze River.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Iraq's prime minister says the rise of ISIS is a failure for the entire world.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

Haider Al Abadi was in Paris today and he appealed for more support during a meeting of coalition partners. Western along with Middle Eastern allies,

you see Laurent Fabius, there the French foreign minister. They all urged Iraq to heal factional divisions and unite the country against ISIS.

Prime Minister Al Abadi says his troops urgently need more weapons, ammunition and intelligence help. He says this is not Iraq's problem

alone.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We need to (inaudible) not only in Iraq and the whole region but throughout the world. We've been invited by Mr. Fabius, a very

generous invitation, we're going to meet with President Hollande with a view to strengthen the relations between Iraq and the coalition but we need

more support to Iraqi forces.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: While Iraq relies heavily on Iranian backed Shia militia on the fight against ISIS yet Iran was not at the conference.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

And there was another group not at the conference, the Kurds, whose Peshmerga fighters are on the front lines against ISIS in Northern Iraq and

have scored some major victories against ISIS.

The U.S. representative in Paris specifically mentioned Kurdish forces when talking about Battlefield successes.

Kurdish leaders made a similar point today in a statement criticizing their exclusion from the meeting. It read in part "it is known both internally

and internationally that the most effective force fighting ISIL terrorists are the Peshmerga."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Later this hour the UN's special envoy to Iraq tells me why he thinks ISIS can still be defeated in that country. Stay with us.

Also after a break, your world news headlines plus Sepp Blatter steps down as FIFA President.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

But football's governing body still faces arrests and allegations of corruption. Coming up we look at what's next for FIFA.

[15:28:52]

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:31:20] HALA GORANI, HOST: Just days after he was re-elected to a fifth term, Sepp Blatter says he will be standing down as president of FIFA, the

governing body of football.

FIFA has, of course, been engulfed in a growing scandal with several officials arrested last week. An important thing to note, however, is

Swiss officials have made it clear that they are not investigating Blatter. So, we do not know why he decided to step down at this stage.

Hope is fading that anymore survivors will be found in China's Yangtze River after a pleasure cruise went down in severe weather. The Eastern

Star sank with 458 people on board. Just 15 people have been found alive so far.

Iraq's prime minister is urging the world to do more in the fight against ISIS, saying it's in everyone's interest to see the terrorist group

defeated. This happened at a meeting of coalition partners in Paris. Mr. Al-Abadi said his forces urgently need more weapons, ammunition and

intelligence help.

Also among the stories we are following - Boston police have shot and killed a man who was under surveillance by a terrorism task force, we're

learning. Police say the man waved a large military-style knife at officers and refused to back down, so officers say they were forced to

shoot him. One official said the suspect was part of a broader terror case involving suspected Islamic extremists. We'll bring you more details when

we have them on this story. It's a bit sketchy at the moment.

The acting head of the U.S. Transportation Security Administration, the TSA, has been quote "reassigned" after airport screeners repeatedly failed

tests to detect explosives and weapons. Undercover teams conducted the tests at dozens of American airports. You're familiar with the TSA when

you go through U.S. airports.

Well, the figure is pretty - pretty surprising. In 95 percent of cases, investigators were able to get banned items through security. Government

officials say procedures will be fully reviewed.

He was re-elected to a fifth term in the middle of a sweeping corruption scandal last Friday. But, today, (inaudible) Blatter said it's time to go

after 40 years with the organization. The shock announcement came after FIFA denied Blatter's top deputy authorized $10 million in bank transfers

linked to the bribery probe.

So, how did Blatter go from being on top to bowing out? Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

GORANI: It was the bombshell resignation many thought would never come.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEPP BLATTER, FIFA PRESIDENT (through translator): I'm going to put my presidency forward to a special elected congress, the date of which a new

president should be chosen for the presidency to succeed me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Just days after Sepp Blatter was re-elected as FIFA president and less than a week since criminal investigations on both sides of the

Atlantic targeted officials at the highest level of the sport.

Early in the morning last Wednesday, Swiss police swooped in on this luxury Zurich hotel and arrested seven FIFA officials. Later that day in Miami,

Florida, U.S. federal investigators entered the offices of CONCAFAF, the federation that runs the sport in Central and North America and the

Caribbean.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD WEBER, IRS CHIEF: This really is the world cup of fraud, and today we're issuing FIFA a red card.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Among the accusations of fraud, money laundering and racketeering, a claim that bribes had helped secure the first ever World Cup held in

Africa. The accusations left football's world governing body in shock and were even remarkable in their timing, just two days ahead of its

presidential election.

[15:35:04] On Friday, the election went ahead with Sepp Blatter looking to take a fifth term at the helm. His only opponent was Prince Ali of Jordan.

To many people's surprise, the vote went to a second round. But then Prince Ali withdrew, ultimately leaving Blatter victorious.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLATTER: I thank you for the trust and confidence - trust and confidence together we go. Let's go FIFA. Let's go FIFA. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Blatter celebrated among adoring delegates from across the world. But fast forward four days with more accusations swirling. The fist-

pumping had stopped.

And something changed Blatter's mind. Along-side his resignation, strong words about FIFA's future.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLATTER (through translator): FIFA needs a deep restructuring.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: As this chapter closes, the extraordinary news conference ended with this simple message to the football world.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (inaudible). Have a nice day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: We're joined now by Samuel Burke. He's been following social media reaction to the announcement. And let me check. Is Blatter or is

FIFA trending right now? (inaudible)

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

SAMUEL BURKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: FIFA is not trending...

GORANI: Sepp Blatter is.

BURKE: Sepp Blatter is trending.

GORANI: Number one trending topic.

BURKE: For sure, but I wanna start actually with this little piece of news that's just come in over Twitter. Fikile Mbalula - he is the minister of

sport in South Africa - and he's just put out the following message, Hala. "Whatever happens to Sepp Blatter, I'm available for FIFA presidency." I

don't quite know how serious this message is, but he's put it out there. So, we're seeing that trend a lot across Twitter.

But, if you look on trendsmap.com, and I really like this Web site, Hala, cause it visualizes everything that's happening on Twitter. From

California to China, everybody is talking about Blatter, but no more so than here where you and I are, Hala, in North West Europe. That's where

people are talking about Blatter the most.

The number one trend on Twitter, as you mentioned. Topsy.com, if you ever wanna see how many people - if you really wanted to quantify how many

people are talking about something - about 500,000 people talking about Blatter right now.

But one of the most interesting messages that's come in is from Richard Branson. He's just published the following - "Finally Blatter resigns.

Opportunity for FIFA to rebuild trust in this beautiful game."

And it's interesting because a lot of the brand experts with whom I've spoken have said it's not the sponsors that have the most to worry about.

It is FIFA that has to worry about their own brand. And they might actually have to change their name at some point, if this scandal continues

which, by all accounts, it is at the moment.

We've tweets from every-day people, and really if I could use one word, it would be "rejoice." That's how it described many of the fans - not all -

but many on Twitter. We have Zach here saying, "Happy Blatter is gone. Definitely not over though."

You hear a lot of people thinking that this scandal is gonna be continuing, and that's echoed in tweets from sports journalists like Grant Wahl from

"Sports Illustrated." "Great day for world soccer," he says, "but can FIFA be trusted to vote in a legitimate reformer to replace Blatter? The

structure itself is rotten." Those are his words, of course. But, again, that's the sentiment that we're hearing from many people online.

And, then, our own John Berman - you know him, Hala. He's an anchor at CNN United States. One of the most re-tweeted messages is his message, "Out of

millions who entered, no one picked Loretta Lynch, the attorney general of the United States, in the quote 'person who would be the one to take down

Sepp Blatter pool.' Just wow."

And, finally, this message from Gary Lineker, the famous English footballer. He says, "Blatter has resigned. Can't quite believe it. FIFA

always appeared to be such a fine, upstanding organization." You always need a bit of that English sarcasm.

GORANI: Hashtag, sarcasm. I didn't know there was a person to take down Sepp Blatter pool.

BURKE: Yes, I never got -

GORANI: I didn't know millions had entered it either.

BURKE: But it is interesting how many people we're seeing on Twitter are upset that it was the Americans. And, of course, all the jokes about how

we Americans know nothing about soccer.

GORANI: But we don't why he's stepped down. I think that's also important to underline. We know the Swiss are not investigating him. They've made

that quite clear.

BURKE: Yes.

GORANI: Is it related to the U.S. investigation? Is it something else? Is it -

BURKE: There are no allegations.

GORANI: Is it the sponsors? So, we don't know. We know the organization has been mired in all these allegations of wrongdoing - corruption, money

laundering and the rest of it. But the man himself, after having essentially sworn to Swiss television on Friday, I am not stepping down, is

stepping down. So, it's gonna be interesting to figure out why.

BURKE: And maybe it'll be somebody from South Africa that replaces him, if that tweet that we saw is for real.

GORANI: He'd be the first official declared candidate.

BURKE: Could be.

[15:39:58] GORANI: Samuel, thanks very much for a look at the Twitter reaction out there. And Twitter is, of course, where so much of the news

breaks, where so many people get to react on this public forum. So, it's interesting to see what's being said there.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

GORANI: Let's get to CNN "World Sport's" Patrick Snell. OK. I'm not gonna ask you why now, because I think at this point it's really an

impossible question to answer. What I'm gonna ask you is what next?

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

PATRICK SNELL, CNN "WORLD SPORT": Great question, isn't it? What is next for FIFA body (ph), a Swiss-based association that's desperate, Hala, to

clean up its act? But, what a contrast in the whole appearance of Sepp Blatter. Late last week, over the weekend, remember he called that 5 a.m.

U.S. time press conference in Switzerland - mid-morning over there.

And it was a mood of ebullience. It was -he was on the attack. He was on the offensive, if you like. What a transformation just less than a handful

of days later to announce he's stepping down as FIFA president. So, of course, now, inevitably, the speculation is, who will it be next.

Now, one of your guests earlier - from earlier in the hour - I'm just gonna run through. A few of the potential pretenders (ph) - interesting

interview is Jerome Champagne, the Frenchman. He was actually a candidate this time around. But he withdrew from - from the heat of battle, as it

were, back in February. But he didn't rule himself out. He appeared not rule himself out, were it to come to that.

And Prince Ali as well - he was another one, as - just show you the credentials there for Jerome - Jerome Champagne - a man of pedigree, a man

who does have good - good sort of resume when it comes to credited (ph) in the past with bolstering the previous campaigner of both Blatter and Michel

Platini (inaudible) and Prince Ali telling Christiane Amanpour - Prince Ali of Jordan in fact saying within the last few minutes that, if asked by the

Jordanian Football Association, he would stand again.

So, again, I admire the campaign that Prince Ali fought. I think he was admirable. It was based on one of transparency as well. And he did well

to take it to the second round of voting before ultimately falling short - perhaps not the powerhouse candidate in the end to stop Blatter going on to

take that fifth term. But, of course now, that seems to be out-of-date with Blatter announcing he's going to be stepping down.

I wanna throw one name into the hat, Hala, that perhaps has flown a little bit under the radar. The name is Sunil Galati. He's the current president

of the U.S. soccer over here in the United States. In his mid-50s - again not a name that essentially flies right there, but a little bit off the

radar - no question about that. He hasn't publicly as yet expressed his interest. He hasn't publicly declared his hand. But that's often a sign

of things (ph) maybe - just maybe of going on behind the scenes.

And, of course, I have to wrap it up with Michel Platini, the current UEFA president. A lot of people's favorite - the French man - a man - a

pedigree during his own story playing career. He won the European football championships with France in '84. He won the European cup with the event

(ph) in '85 - that tragic occurrence at Ixelles (ph) in Belgium. So, a lot of people going for Michel Platini. It'll be fascinating to see how this

one unfolds.

Back to you.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

GORANI: Certainly a household name and someone who has got extensive experience at the highest executive levels with UEFA. We'll see. It's

gonna be an exciting race.

Thanks very much, Patrick Snell. This is THE WORLD RIGHT NOW. Coming up - different views on the fight against ISIS. Iraq's prime minister says the

world isn't doing enough to fight the extremists. Bu a top American diplomat says the coalition strategy is working. Well, I speak to the U.N.

envoy to Iraq to ask him for his thoughts.

That's still ahead.

[15:43:38]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:45:55]

GORANI: The rapid advances of ISIS in Iraq and Syria is quote "a failure for the whole world." That's what the Iraqi Prime Minister, Haider Al-

Abadi, told 24 ministers (ph) today. They were in Paris. They were having a big meeting to try to figure out a way to improve this anti-ISIS

coalition strategy. Al-Abadi called on coalition partners to do more to help. But the top U.S. official attending said the strategy, despite

criticism, is in fact working.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY BLINKEN, DEPUTY U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We have made real gains in the nine months since this coalition has come together. DAESH now controls

25 percent less territory in Iraq than it did when this first started, and it has lost significant numbers of men in the Charial (ph). And we have

proof of (inaudible) that what we're doing works around Al-Asad, where we're present, and in the north with the Kurdish forces.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: What we're doing works. Here's the problem. ISIS took Ramadi they - in Iraq. They took Palmyra in Syria. They're taking large parts of

territory, and they are holding it. So, people are wondering what's wrong with this strategy.

A short time ago, I spoke with Jan Kubis. He's the U.N. special representative for Iraq, and he attended today's meetings in Paris. I

began by asking him whether the coalition felt ISIS was winning this fight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAN KUBIS, U.S. SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR IRAQ: Yes, I believe that now is very clear that, after certain successes in the fight of the coalition

and notably successes of the Iraq security forces and popular mobilization in Peshmerga. There are also setbacks. And there is a clear recognition

that it's a long campaign, and there will be successes - no - no doubt about it. But there might be also setbacks.

And I believe both the Iraqi forces - Iraqi representatives countries of the region - and the coalition, as such, discuss the issue how to indeed

increase effectiveness of their joint work. So, I would put it more from that long-term perspective.

GORANI: You spoke with the foreign ministers at this meeting today. I'm sure you had one-on-one discussions with them. I mean, they must be

worried that a year in almost into these coalition air strikes that ISIS is still making big gains. There has to be some level of concern there. No?

KUBIS: Indeed, in my meetings with many foreign ministers, shorter, longer discussions this concern was there. And also a call to, indeed, look at

the situation from a much broader perspective, notably from the perspective of finding political solutions for Syria.

From the perspective of not forgetting what is happening in Libya and in other parts of the world. Also, from the perspective that we should not,

as the international community (inaudible) the - the public area and the media for - for the propaganda of DAESH. So, all that was discussed in -

in a - from many, many perspectives - and I believe that, again, this meeting reaffirmed the resolve of all the members of the coalition to look

for comprehensive solutions.

GORANI: Why weren't the Kurds invited to this meeting? After all, their Peshmerga forces are one of the fighting forces that has - that has had the

most success against ISIS.

KUBIS: They were very ably and very well represented by Prime Minister Abadi. Indeed, they were, you know, very present there. And the

discussion was about the force of the government, as I said, notably after Ramadi we see a much more focused, much more coordinated approach of the

whole government, including then the leaders of the Kurdistan (inaudible) region in finding solutions in fighting together. And this is also what

the coalition is doing.

GORANI: And, finally, inside of Iraq - I know you'll be on your way back there. This is a major humanitarian crisis as well - what's going on.

It's made it even worse with so many internally displaced. The U.N. is going to launch another appeal for funds. You yourself had said, if we

don't get extra money soon, this is going to become even more of a catastrophe inside of Iraq. What - how much money are you appealing for,

and are you worried you won't get it this time?

[15:50:11] KUBIS: I was encouraged by growing understanding that, indeed, more is needed. This is not the time to look into excuses - on the

contrary. Secondly, and it is also a part of the communique and discussions. It's humanitarian. But, of course, what is needed is to

ensure conditions for the return of IDPs (ph) to their places of origin.

And it needs - it is not possible without reconstruction, rehabilitation, stabilization, of course (ph). And this meeting in Paris endorsed a very

welcome activity. So if UNDP that created a special stabilization facility that would enable rapid return of IDPs (ph) to their places of origin.

GORANI: Jan Kubis is the U.N Special Representative for Iraq. He was speaking to me from Paris where he attended that anti-ISIS coalition

meeting chaired by the French.

Coming up when the show continues - "Call me Caitlyn." Former Olympic athlete, Bruce Jenner, shows off a new name and a new identity as a woman.

More on what she told "Vanity Fair" and the world-wide social media reaction, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: It is one of the most talked about stories right now around the world. Now, most of you, if you have a computer or a phone, you've seen

this. It's the new "Vanity Fair" cover revealing Caitlyn Jenner to the world, formerly known as Bruce Jenner.

And true to form, the Olympic gold medalist is breaking records. Jenner's Twitter account became the fastest to reach a million followers. I think

it's above two million now. Her response, another Jenner world record, and at 65, who'd a thought? "Humbled and honored to have reached one million

followers in four hours, thank you for your support." Jenner had this to say about the cover's release.

BRUCE JENNER: Bruce always had to tell a lie. He was always living that lie. Caitlyn doesn't have any secrets. Soon as the "Vanity Fair" cover

comes out, I'm free.

GORANI: "Vanity Fair" went through a lot of effort to keep its Caitlyn Jenner cover a secret. Senior Media Correspondent, Brian Stelter, joins me

now from New York with more. How did they manage, in this day and age, to keep it a secret, for it not to leak? That's remarkable.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: You know, they even had body guards at the photo shoot. They went to great lengths to make sure

this remained a secret. There were some rumors over the weekend, maybe there was a special cover coming out soon, but they even went so far as to

take the cover and the story - 22-page story, bring it to the printer separately from the rest of the magazine. That way, other people involved

in the production of the magazine would not know about it ahead of time. But this was in the works for months, and we can think of this as the latest in a series of steps by Bruce Jenner, now Caitlyn Jenner, to go

through this transformation in a very public way. The interview on ABC with Diane Sawyer was the first step where Bruce Jenner, at the time,

talked about being transgender. And now this cover, "Call me Caitlyn," identified him for the first time as Caitlyn and saying she wants to be called a woman publicly is the next

step. And then, of course, future steps will include a reality show on television later this summer.

{15:55:07] GORANI: I was going to say, unless it's filmed by reality television cameras, did it really happen? (Inaudible)

STELTER: One of the interesting things, by the way, no paparazzi. This transformation was able to happen mostly outside of public view. That's why

it was so surprising to see this cover by "Vanity Fair." We might have seen, step-by-step, week-by-week, paparazzi photos. But, by doing it this

way, Caitlyn Jenner has been able to control her public image.

GORANI: Yes, and it's been very interesting but, again, you talk about a reality show. This has been a carefully, stage-managed public peeling of

the onion, starting with the Diane Sawyer interview, and then there was a special two-parter Kardashian, sort of one - part one and part two show.

STELTER: Oh right, yeah.

GORANI: Now there is the cover on "Vanity Fair," Annie Liebovitz, the famous celebrity photographer, and then finally these reality shows. But,

you know, this - this is a remarkable sort of series of things that is presenting Caitlyn to the world.

STELTER: Yes, I don't think it is cynical for me to say that everything that comes to the Kardashian's and the Jenner's, everything is a business

in some way. This is a very personal decision and a personal change for Caitlyn Jenner. But it is also coming in the context of a business

decision. And that is to have a reality show and to have a magazine cover, et cetera, et cetera.

Yes, I think both of those things are true at the same time, and I don't say that to diminish what is obviously a very brave and private transition

to be going through. But the fact of the matter is this reality show will give a lot of detail and give a lot more people more information about what

it's like to go through this transition.

You know, we saw for the first time, a facial reconstruction, breast augmentation. Maybe we'll see other steps along the way in this reality

show. Again, it's showing the most private of personal details to the whole world.

GORANI: All right, well that's kind of the world we live in now. Thanks very much, Brian Stelter, for that. And our international audience has

been very interested in it as well.

This has been THE WORLD RIGHT NOW. I'm Hala Gorani.

"Quest Means Business" is next.

[15:57:16]

END