Platini unsure over FIFA presidency
Baku, August 28 (AZERTAC). UEFA president Michel Platini has said he must “convince” himself it is his “destiny” to run for the FIFA presidency, with incumbent Sepp Blatter expected to step down in 2015.
Platini, 58, has been the head of European football's governing body since 2007. He has been widely tipped to succeed 77-year-old Blatter, who has said he was ready for the task and told L'Equipe in May would be his "natural candidate".
However, Platini, who has already worked closely with Blatter at football's global governing body, is far from certain that he wants to follow in his footsteps and swap Nyon for Zurich.
"I'm thinking about it, whether it's good or not. I have to convince myself, just as when I convinced myself to run for the presidency of UEFA, that I want to go to FIFA. UEFA and FIFA, it's not the same world," Platini, expected to announce his decision at UEFA's executive committee meeting in Dubrovnik next month, told L'Equipe.
The former France coach has been at the heart of UEFA moves to broaden the European “football family”, which now numbers 54 member associations. Initiatives have included providing the impetus for the introduction of Financial Fair Play and giving title-winners from smaller nations a less bumpy route into the Champions League group stages.But he said he was unsure whether Blatter would even relinquish power. "I'll decide by myself, without worrying about Sepp,” he explained. “First of all, he said he would stop in 2015. Now he's saying that he'll explain what he's going to do in a year's time in Brazil.
Other news in this section
