Nobody contributed more to propelling football and sport into the modern era than the man who was FIFA President between 1974 and 1998. His is a life within a century. Through his striking blue eyes, Joao Havelange witnessed the Berlin Olympics in 1936, Uruguay's victory at the Maracana stadium in 1950 and another twelve World Cup final tournaments. The Honorary President of FIFA spoke exclusively to FIFAworldcup.com about the world's favourite sport.

"24 years of FIFA presidency, 26,000 hours of flying time and thirteen FIFA World Cups: Joao Havelange has good cause to smile, as football continues to reign supreme."[FIFAworldcup.com]

Now 87 years young, Jean-Marie Faustin Godefroid de Havelange still cuts an athletic figure, quite fitting for a man who was once an Olympic swimmer in Berlin and a water polo player at the Helsinki Games of 1952. Havelange's father, who died when he was just 17, left Belgium to start a new life in Brazil. "With its mix of cultures, races and religions, Brazil is quite unique. Africans, Indians and Europeans all live side by side in my country. So much so that in all my time as President of FIFA, I never learnt anything new about my fellow man."

In 1958, Havelange presided over the Brazilian Sports Confederation which oversaw professional football and 23 other amateur sports. Then, as now, football reigned supreme. "Football is unique in being accepted by everybody everywhere. Its importance can be measured by the extent to which it has seeped into the fabric of society, where it unites the peoples of the world." With Pele in its ranks, the Sele?ao lifted the Jules Rimet Cup three times, earning the right to keep the precious trophy outright in 1970.

Havelange took over the presidency of FIFA in 1974, a post he held for 24 years. To his detractors, who called him a "despot" he responds quite simply: "When I arrived at FIFA HQ in Zurich, I found an old house and 20 dollars in the kitty. On the day I departed twenty-four years later, I left property and contracts worth over 4 billion dollars. Not too bad I'd say¡­"

As football grew into a global sport, Havelange understood the crucial importance of television. With his Development Director and then General Secretary Joseph "Sepp" Blatter, he was able to form strategic partnerships with the key players in sport business - players who still back FIFA today. Such partnerships also heralded the founding of youth competitions and large-scale development programmes.

Havelange oversaw the expansion of FIFA, most notably welcoming China to great family of world sport. For a man who visited each of the 185 FIFA member countries at least three times, this growth was a tremendous personal success. "I clocked up 26,000 hours in the air, the equivalent of spending three years in an airplane. The only country I never visited was Afghanistan - because they wouldn't let me in." Now, in turn, that country is entering the modern age.

Looking back at half a century of FIFA world Cups.