Portuguese football Luis Figo has officially announced his intention to stand against Sepp Blatter for the FIFA Presidency.
The FIFA Congress is set to be held in May where 209 members FA’s will vote for the new President. Sepp Blatter will be defending his position for the fourth time and it now appears that Figo will be challenging him for the position.
I'm delighted to announce my candidacy for the FIFA Presidency. Football has given me so much during my life & I want to give something back
— Luís Figo (@LuisFigo) January 28, 2015
Figo then spoke to CNN about his ambitions and aspirations for FIFA, claiming that altering its negative image is of utmost priority.
Figo told CNN: “I care about football, so what I’m seeing regarding the image of FIFA — not only now but in the past years — I don’t like it.
“If you search FIFA on the internet, you see the first word that comes out: ‘scandal.’ Not positive words. It’s that we have to change first and try to improve the image of FIFA. Football deserves much better than this.
“I’ve been talking with so many important people in football — players, managers, president of federations — and they all think that something has to be done.
“Last year was the World Cup, I was in Brazil and I saw the reaction of all the fans regarding the image of FIFA and I think something has to be changed. Change in leadership, governance, transparency and solidarity, so I think it’s the moment for that.”
Besides Figo, Blatter will also be challenged by former FIFA executive Jerome Champagne, Jordanian FA president Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein, Dutch FA chairman Michael van Praag and former France international David Ginola.
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