Platini Will Run For FIFA President To Replace Sepp Blatter

UEFA Boss, Mitchel Platini says he will run in the election to succeed Sepp Blatter as FIFA
president.

Platini, the UEFA president and a FIFA vice president, has written to member federations in Europe saying he will stand and is counting on their support.
The FIFA election is on Feb. 26 and would-be candidates must apply by Oct. 26.
Platini has for years been the obvious candidate to succeed Blatter, his mentor in FIFA politics. But a rift between the long-time allies deepened when Blatter broke a promise to leave office in 2015.
Platini chose last year not to oppose Blatter, who won a fifth presidential term on May 29. Four days later, Blatter announced his resignation plans under pressure from American and Swiss federal investigations of corruption implicating FIFA.
Five of the six continental leaders, including Platini, were in St. Petersburg, Russia, last week for FIFA meetings and the 2018 World Cup qualifying draw.
The FIFA election is on Feb. 26 and would-be candidates must apply by Oct. 26.
Platini is set to be the first serious contender to announce he will stand, two months after Blatter was re-elected for a fifth four-year term.
Two former FIFA vice presidents from Asia are also possible contenders.
Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan, who lost a 133-73 vote to Blatter on May 29 with Platini’s public support, and South Korean politician Chung Mong-joon have made public statements about the election in recent days.
Blatter was Platini’s long-time mentor in FIFA politics until a rift developed as the 79-year-old Swiss hung on to office in recent years.
After 17 years as FIFA president, Blatter said on June 2 he was standing down, under pressure from American and Swiss federal investigations of corruption implicating senior FIFA officials.
Platini has not been linked to any wrongdoing, though his vote for Qatar as 2022 World Cup host has proved controversial. He was the first FIFA executive committee member to reveal who he voted for in the December 2010 hosting ballots that also gave the 2018 event to Russia.
Platini, who turned 60 last month, chose last year not to oppose Blatter in the recent election.

“Now is not my time, not yet,” Platini said last August in Monaco when announcing he would focus on getting a third term at UEFA, which he won in March unopposed for a second straight time.