By Andrew Warshaw
July 21 – Michel Platini could announce as early as this weekend or the start of next week that he will stand for FIFA president after consulting colleagues attending the 2018 World Cup draw in St. Petersburg.
With the election to replace Sepp Blatter now confirmed for February 26 next year, the UEFA boss is in pole position to put his name forward but will first gauge the mood of the federations, most of whom will be at the draw.
Rumours that four of FIFA’s six confederations are behind Platini, whose tactics have changed radically after saying he wasn’t interested in the job last time, have been confirmed to InsideWorldFootball. One FIFA executive committee member said: “Platini feels it is his destiny and that he has to take the chance when it comes along. The next three or four days are crucial. I think he will announce early, maybe by the end of the week. All the federations will be there, it’s a perfect opportunity.”
Platini, who held several private meetings with Asian and CONCACAF representatives before and after yesterday’s FIFA executive committee meeting in Zurich, has made no public comment so far on whether he will run. Instead he issued a statement supporting the series of ground-breaking reforms that have been drawn up to try and improve FIFA’s battered image, most of which are expected to be approved by the extraordinary congress that will choose Blatter’s successor.
“Along with the rest of FIFA’s Executive Committee, I feel that the creation of a task force with internal and external members to deal specifically with reforms is an important step towards improving overall processes and transparency within the organisation,” said Platini.
“We must now make sure that the reforms outlined today will be undertaken in a swift and effective manner. As I have said various times in the recent past, we need to reform FIFA and we need to do it now.
“Regarding the election, we now have a concrete date which means we can look forward to new leadership which will surely bring with it new ideas and new solutions. This is an exciting time for FIFA because we can work together to improve it and restructure it for the good of the game.”
Immediately following yesterday’s executive committee meeting, Platini’s spokesman Pedro Pinto gave an impromptu briefing outside FIFA headquarters at which he fuelled the likelihood of his boss standing.
“He has a lot of words of support from football’s decision-makers,” said Pinto. “People are asking him to run. They had an impact on him, a positive impact. He has been impressed that many people see him as a possible successor.”
“He’s pleased that many people see him as someone who could lead FIFA into a new period with a new image, with an image of transparency and good governance. That has not gone unnoticed. It’s a big decision that he will have to make soon.”
With considerable emphasis on cleaning up FIFA, much has been about whether the ongoing probe into the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bid process by Swiss authorities might compromise Platini who admitted he voted for Qatar as hosts of the latter tournament.
But Pinto shrugged this off.
“He’s a man of conviction, he’s a man who has always been transparent and one of the few, if not the only one, to admit who he voted for. He has nothing to hide and is someone who I think is respected around the world of football.”
Pinto said Platini’s decision would most likely be affected by the mood of football’s powerbrokers in Russia. “Maybe that will help him make a decision one way or another.”
Asked why the Frenchman turned down the FIFA presidency such a short time ago (suggestions are that he could not face losing to Blatter in May), Pinto replied: “He’s a man of football. He’s not a man of politics. FIFA is a more political organisation. That’s why he decided against running before.”
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