adminPARIS. — Former France winger David Ginola is ready to run for the FIFA presidency, but said on Tuesday it was reckless to keep the February 26 election date.
Football’s governing body, submerged in the worst crisis in its 111-year history, confirmed earlier in the day that the election to replace outgoing president Sepp Blatter would go ahead on its scheduled date.
“In light of recent developments in France and at FIFA, a great many people have asked me to run an independent campaign for FIFA president,” said Ginola in a statement sent to Reuters.
“This is a challenge I would proudly accept yet the first priority should be delaying the election and bringing sanity to the process.
“FIFA has no credibility, authority or mandate to hold an election while there are ongoing multi-national criminal and internal investigations of key FIFA executives,” added Ginola.
FIFA has been engulfed in crisis since May when 14 football officials and sports marketing executives were indicted in the United States on bribery, money laundering and wire fraud charges involving more than $150 million in payments.
Swiss authorities have also launched a criminal investigation into the decision to award the hosting rights for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar respectively.
Candidates must register their presidential bids by Monday and then face an integrity check within 10 days. — Reuters.
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