Football legend Figo enters race for FIFA presidency
Football great Luis Figo is the latest to announce his bid to become the president of FIFA, the international football governing body.
The former Portuguese international said Wednesday that he feels a responsibility to enter the race to become the FIFA president as the international body is plagued by rumors of corruption and scandal.
Figu told CNN in an interview that he does not like the current image of FIFA, and that the beautiful game deserves much better than this.
“If you search FIFA on the internet you see the first word that comes out: scandal -- not positive words. It’s that we have to change first and try to improve the image of FIFA,” he said.
Figo, now 42, is one of the best wingers football has ever seen. He played glorious years for Spanish giants FC Barcelona before moving to Santiago Bernabéu to play for Barca’s archrivals Real Madrid. Figo also shined in Italy, where he spent successful years with FC Internazionale.
Declaring candidacy for FIFA presidency needs endorsement from five member associations of the body. Until now, four people have announced their bid to assume the post, including former French winger David Ginola, Asian Football Confederation Vice President Prince Ali bin Al Hussein, ex-FIFA executive Jerome Champagne and the president of Dutch football association, Michael van Praag. Thursday is the deadline for submitting the bids.
Figo said the main reason behind his move for presidency was the fact that FIFA refused to publish details of investigations into the faulty bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
The incumbent FIFA president, Sep Blatter, has announced that he will go for a fifth term in office in the May 29 election. The 78-year-old Swiss is accused of having a major role in FIFA corruption cases, especially the controversial decision to award Qatar hosting of the 2018 World Cup.
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