Uefa’s Infantino to bid for presidency
ZURICH: UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino has agreed to stand as a candidate for the FIFA presidency, European soccer’s governing body said on Monday, adding that he had its full support.
The announcement came on deadline day for candidates to register their nominations for the election of soccer’s crisistorn governing body which will take place in Zurich on February 26. FIFA, the governing body for world soccer, is embroiled in the worst scandal of its 111-year history, the United States having indicted several FIFA officials for bribery, money laundering and wire fraud in May.
Swiss authorities are also investigating the decision to award the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar respectively. Earlier this month, FIFA president Sepp Blatter and UEFA president Michel Platini, who had been favourite to succeed him, were suspended for 90 days pending a full investigation by FIFA’s Ethics Committee.
“We are delighted that Gianni has agreed to stand and he knows that he has our full support in his campaign to become FIFA President,” said UEFA in a statement. “He is in the process of submitting the required nominations and will issue a statement on his candidacy later today.”
SHEIKH SALMAN ENTERS PREZ RACE DUBAI: Bahraini royal family member Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa plans to run for FIFA president, a move that will put his human rights record under scrutiny.
Sheikh Salman, the president of the Asian soccer confederation, declared his intention to run Sunday, the official Bahrain News Agency reported.
If Sheikh Salman does formally submit his papers before Monday’s filing deadline for the Feb. 26 election, he would be the sixth contender seeking to replace Sepp Blatter as FIFA president as the governing body tries to move beyond serious corruption allegations.
The 49-year-old sheikh could not immediately be reached for comment. FIFA’s election oversight committee was quickly urged by rights groups to reject Sheikh Salman as a candidate when it conducts integrity checks required by election rules.
CHUNG MONG-JOON WITHDRAWS FROM RACE SEOUL: South Korean tycoon Chung Mong-Joon formally announced on Monday he was withdrawing from the race for the FIFA presidency due to an “unjust” ban from the sport.
On his newly-launched blog Chung said the ban handed down by Fifa’s independent ethics committee had forced him to miss the October 26 deadline for filing his candidacy.
“Because of the committee’s unjust sanctions... it is now time to officially withdraw my candidacy for the next FIFA president,” he wrote. The scion of the Hyundai family was found to have contravened rules while lobbying for South Korea’s bid for the 2022 World Cup, which was awarded to Qatar in 2010. He was banned for six years by the ethics committee, which also suspended FIFA head Sepp Blatter, secretarygeneral Jerome Valcke and UEFA president Michel Platini for 90 days.