Michel Platini will run for Fifa top post

Paris: Uefa boss Michel Platini announced he would stand for president of world football’s governing body Fifa on Wednesday, and immediately ran into a storm of criticism from one of his potential rivals.

 

Platini’s announcement ended weeks of speculation over whether the 60-year-old Frenchman would stand in the election to find a successor to the beleaguered Sepp Blatter. “This was a very personal, carefully considered decision, one in which I weighed up the future of football alongside my own future,” Platini said. “I was also guided by the esteem, support and encouragement that many of you have shown me.” He promised to work tirelessly “in the interests of football”.

 

But no sooner had he announced his candidacy  than Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein, who lost out in the previous vote in May to Blatter, turned on him and described him as “not good for football”.

 

The Jordanian prince said Platini, considered a strong candidate, was not the man to run the sport’s global affairs. “Platini is not good for Fifa. I believe that the voices of the individual Federations must be heard. In the coming week, I will be consulting with them about what is in the best interests of football” he said.