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UEFA President Michel Platini Confirms Bid For FIFA Presidency

UEFA President Michel Platini has launched his bid for the FIFA presidency, vowing to give the governing body back "the dignity and the position it deserves," according to Ben Rumsby of the London TELEGRAPH. Platini, who is "on course" to replace Sepp Blatter as FIFA president amid the "worst crisis" in FIFA's history, declared he wanted to "transform its battered reputation" to give "tens of millions of football fans" the FIFA that they want. He said in a letter, "This was a very personal, carefully considered decision, one in which I weighed up the future of football alongside my own future. I was also guided by the esteem, support and encouragement that many of you have shown me." Platini decided to run after "gaining enough pledges of support to be confident of winning the battle" to succeed Blatter (TELEGRAPH, 7/29). In London, Moore & Atkins reported Platini will "almost certainly be challenged by other candidates and may fail to win support in regions such as Africa amid fears that rich European clubs already dominate the sport." Explaining his decision to run, Platini, who has been UEFA president since '07, said that he had received support from across FIFA's 209 member associations. Platini: "There are times in life when you have to take your destiny into your own hands. I am at one of those decisive moments" (FINANCIAL TIMES, 7/29). REUTERS' Brian Homewood reported once seen as a "Blatter protege," Platini has recently become a "leading critic of the 79-year-old Swiss." He urged Blatter not to stand in May and said that the series of recent scandals involving FIFA "turned his stomach." However, he has repeatedly said that he "enjoys his UEFA role and would be reluctant to give it up." Referring to Blatter, who has been in charge since '98, and his predecessor João Havelange, who ruled from '74 to '98, Platini said, "During this last half-century or so, FIFA has only had two presidents. Recent events force the supreme governing body of world soccer to turn over a new leaf and rethink its governance" (REUTERS, 7/29).

SUPPORT FROM U.K.: In London, Scott Rutherford wrote FA Chair Greg Dyke said the organization "will give its firm backing" to Platini in his run for the presidency. Dyke warned Platini, however, "that it will be a challenging task to change football’s 'tainted' world governing body" if he succeeds Blatter. Dyke: “We support Michel Platini’s candidacy, we have a good relationship with him and hope he can gain the necessary global backing to lead a new FIFA during the most difficult period in its history. We understand there will be a number of candidates, which should result in a strong and healthy debate. However, we should not underestimate how challenging it will be for anyone to lead an organization that has been so tainted" (LONDON TIMES, 7/30).

THE COMPETITION: In London, Gardner & Smith reported though a number of "prominent former players, including David Ginola, Zico and Diego Maradona have hinted that they may be persuaded to stand for election," they are not seen as "credible alternatives" to Platini in FIFA circles. More realistic would be the claims of Chung Mong-Joon, a South Korean former FIFA VP, and Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan, the man "beaten resoundingly by Blatter in his last election in May." Both may consider "withdrawing from the race should it become clear that Platini has secured enough support to win the contest" (LONDON TIMES, 7/29).

PRINCE ALI UNHAPPY: The BBC reported Prince Ali claims that "Platini is not good for FIFA." He added that "football's fans and players deserve better." Prince Ali issued a statement setting out his own plans as well as pledging to stop "the practice of back-room, under-the-table deals." He concluded, "What is clear is that FIFA needs new, independent leadership, untainted by the practices of the past" (BBC, 7/29). Homewood reported in a separate piece the Dutch FA (KNVB), whose president Michael van Praag "withdrew from the May presidential race one week before the election," said that Platini was a "serious candidate" to replace the Swiss. The KNVB said, "There is a real chance of more candidates putting themselves forward. Only when these names are known will the board take a decision about its stance in the Feb. 26 elections" (REUTERS, 7/29).

ZIDANE, DESCHAMPS BACK PLATINI: ESPN's Ian Holyman reported former French players Zinedine Zidane and Didier Deschamps "have both backed" Platini to be a success. Zidane: "Michel would be a very good FIFA president. He's the man we need, because he has done some good work already at UEFA. He's really the ideal man for this post." Deschamps added, "If there is a credible and legitimate person to fill this role, it's certainly Michel Platini" (ESPN, 7/29). Homewood wrote in a separate piece Platini, one of the "most exquisitely gifted football players of his generation," likes to "portray himself as an old-fashioned romantic with a mission to maintain the game's purity." Some "may wonder whether the moody Frenchman is the right man" to clean up an organization "mired in a graft scandal reaching its top echelons." Some critics have accused him of "turning UEFA into a slick, financially successful and yet ultimately charmless" organization, where elite clubs have thrived and "others have to sell their best players to stay afloat." Under Platini, UEFA has steered money and power to "the clubs and leagues that are already the most established, particularly through the market pool system where club revenue depends on the size of their country's television market." Should Platini become FIFA president, "he would have to balance the influence and power of Europe and non-European football powers." At least for his early years, "corruption investigations would hang over all his efforts" (REUTERS, 7/29).

NO ACCUSATIONS: ESPN FC's Gabriele Marcotti said that Platini has "his critics as most people who run football for a long time have" but there have not been "any accusations that he's in any way corrupt or any accusations of corruption on his watch in his organization" as UEFA president. Marcotti: "That's the single most important thing to consider here and why I think he's quite different from Sepp Blatter." ESPN FC's Craig Burley said your "credentials for this job is if your background check is you're not corrupt, you're going to be better" than Blatter and "you're in." ESPN FC's Shaka Hislop said Platini is the "best man for the job" ("ESPN FC," ESPNews, 7/28).

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