By Andrew Warshaw
March 31 – With 24 hours to go before the deadline for FIFA Presidential nominations, former Chilean captain Elias Figueroa has decided not to run, it was announced today.
The 64-year-old Figueroa, three times South American Player of the Year in the 1970s, had been put forward by a group calling itself ChangeFIFA to stand against Sepp Blatter and Asian Confederation chief Mohamed Bin Hammam on June 1 in Zurich.
All candidates for President need at least one nomination from within FIFA’s 208-nation membership and Figueroa, regarded very much as a token contender with little or no experience of football politics, said there was simply too little time to prepare a creditable manifesto.
“I have decided not to accept…for the sole reason that I’m sure with such a short time in which to state a case I could not prepare one worthy of the magnitude and importance of such a distinguished job,” Figueroa said in a statement.
The former central defender, who played in three World Cups, had hoped to gain at least one nomination and the little-known ChangeFIFA group criticised Chile’s own domestic league, the ANFP, for not supporting their man.
“We are surprised that the ANFP should not want to name Elias,” Oliver Fowler, a spokesman for ChangeFIFA said.
“If they did so it was be big news.
How can they treat their idols with such disrespect?”
Bin Hammam has already announced his challenge to Blatter while American journalist Grant Wahl is still hoping to stand as “the people’s candidate” though time is running out before tomorrow’s deadline for further opponents to Blatter to be announced.
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