Champagne to stand for FIFA presidency

Jerome Champagne has revealed he will stand for the FIFA presidency in opposition to current incumbent Sepp Blatter.

Blatter has come in for criticism in recent weeks, with the world game’s governing body under the spotlight regarding alleged corruption surrounding the decision to award Qatar the 2022 World Cup.

The Swiss was asked not to stand for re-election by high-ranking UEFA officials at a meeting in Sao Paulo last week, but ignored the calls and announced his intention to run for another term.

Current UEFA president Michel Platini has been touted as a potential opponent to Blatter, and on Monday Champagne confirmed he would stand for the presidency in a bid to address FIFA’s currently damaged reputation.

“There are two main issues which will need to be tackled,” he told Sky Sports News.

“The first is the growing inequalities in the game which are jeopardising the uncertainty of the sport and the second thing is to help FIFA enter the 21st century, including revamping its image.

“I think we need to reconcile FIFA with the public opinion of football and this is also why I have decided to stand.”