Fifa was issued with an ultimatum by its corporate sponsors as pressure intensified for president Sepp Blatter to resign. Visa threatened to break off its contract over concerns about the £100?million corruption allegations, saying it would withdraw sponsorship unless Fifa made urgent reforms.

Other global brands such as Nike, adidas, Kia and McDonald's also issued strongly-worded statements pressurising Fifa to take immediate action to restore its tattered reputation.

Visa said in a statement: "It is important Fifa makes changes now. Should it fail to do so, we have told it we will reassess our sponsorship."

On Wednesday US investigators lifted the lid on decades of "rampant, systemic, and deep rooted" corruption.