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Michel Platini is expected to announce his candidature for FIFA presidency on Wednesday, report ESPN FC. The French legend has held talks with members of the governing body at the 2018 World Cup draw in St. Petersburg on Saturday and believes he has the necessary support to warranty a shot at the helm of FIFA.
According to The Guardian, the current UEFA president has the support of four of the six federations. His chances of winning had considerably improved after he managed to get the support of Asian Football Confederation president Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa and FIFA executive member Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahad al-Sabah of Kuwait.
The pair are two of the most powerful people in FIFA and between them, control about 46 votes which will go a long way in influencing the election result in favour of the 60-year-old.
Chung Mong-joon, a former FIFA vice-president from South Korea, and Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein of Jordan, who was beaten by Blatter in May are also considering contesting the election to decide Sepp Blatter’s successor, which will be held in Zurich on Feb 26.
Platini receives backing from Zidane and Deschamps
Platini also found support from his fellow countrymen in two-time World Player of the Year Zinedine Zidane and current French national team manager Didier Deschamps.
"Michel would be a very good FIFA president," Zidane said, as reported by ESPN FC. "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 also echoed similar thoughts when talking about his compatriot.
"If there is a credible and legitimate person to fill this role, it's certainly Michel Platini,” Deschamps said, according to ESPN FC. “Football needs strong and competent people at its head. With everything he did during his playing career and today at the head of UEFA, you can say that there is him and then there are the others. But it's up to him to run for the presidency."
Should Platini run for the FIFA presidency and eventually win, current German FA president Wolfgang Niersbach is considered the frontrunner to be Platini’s successor. He neither denied or confirmed the move while speaking to Sport Bild.
“As things stand I’m not a candidate. We'll see whether that changes," Niersbach said, as reported by ESPN FC.
