London - Former France international David Ginola launched an unlikely and almost certainly doomed bid for the Fifa presidency, assuming the role of the “fans champion” under the slogan of “rebooting football.”
Ginola, 48, who has until January 29 to prove he has the backing of five football associations before his bid can be officially accepted by Fifa, is seeking the support of fans around the world to help get him on the ballot and to ultimately mount a successful election campaign.
Launching “Team Ginola”, the former Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur and Everton player, 48 later this month, told reporters: “I am putting my name forward as a candidate for the Presidency of Fifa and am seeking the support from fans all over the world and from their football associations to make this happen.
“I believe that I have the credentials and capability to be a strong candidate, a candidate of football fans and lovers of the game from the four corners of the world. The people who follow football should have a voice and a cause. My voice is theirs. My cause is theirs.”
Ginola's stance might resonate with many in the wake of continual and widespread disillusionment with Fifa but it appears to be more a voice in the wind than a credible bid to run against incumbent president Sepp Blatter, standing for a fifth term, former Fifa official and another Frenchman Jerome Champagne and Prince Ali bin Al-Hussein of Jordan
The campaign, backed by a notoriously publicity-hungry bookmaker in association with the Change Fifa organisation needs to raise 2.3 million pounds ($3.50 million) for a “comprehensive global marketing and communications campaign” over the coming months.
To raise the money, “Team Ginola” has initiated a crowd funding programme, asking fans around the world to contribute.
Before he can stand officially, though, he needs the five declarations to set him on course for the Fifa Presidential vote on May 29.
He also needs to prove he has had an active role in football for at least two of the last five years, though he believes that his role at French third tier side L'Etoile Frejus St Raphael means he meets that criteria. – Reuters