Jérôme Champagne has announced his plans to run for the presidency of FIFA, football’s global governing body.
Champagne has once served as FIFA’s deputy general secretary under current President Sepp Blatter who has held the presidency since 1998.
Even though the chances for Champagne’s election are pretty slim given Blatter’s grip on the post, FIFA could use a fresh mind right now given the controversies Blatter is subjected to quite often.
“I won’t say that if I am elected, I would not face any hurdles; I would face a lot of hurdles,” Champagne told NY Times.
“But it is a privilege to run for president,” he added. “It is not a job. It is a mission.”
“The role of FIFA in the economy of football is a mix of Robin Hood and the sheriff of Nottingham,” Champagne said. “When a competition becomes very successful internationally, it takes a lot of money away from the local leagues.”
“This election is so important,” Champagne said. “It is about the future of soccer and what the game will look like in 2030.”
Champagne, who is a French, has chosen London as the venue to announce his candidacy, instead of Paris, which is pretty clever as the British media has always been very critical of Blatter and could come to his aid for promotional activities.
The last candidate to challenge Blatter was Mohamed bin Hammam who was removed from the ballot after being accused of buying votes. He had to resign from all his positions in football with immediate effect and was barred from football for life.
