Bin Hammam or Blatter? Neither, says US journalist as he bids for Fifa's top job

This week's Uefa Congress in Paris saw Sepp Blatter and Mohammed bin Hammam doing their best to avoid each other in the corridors of the Hilton Arc de Triomphe before their battle for the Fifa presidency on June 1. Another candidate lobbying for support was an American sports journalist hoping to make an audacious bid for soccer's top job.

With his shaven head, neat appearance and ready smile, 37-year-old Grant Wahl looks more like a friendly schoolteacher than a potential powerbroker. His day job is senior writer for Sports Illustrated, but Wahl is probably best known for writing The Beckham Experiment, a controversial biography two years ago about David Beckham's arrival in the US.

Wahl never played professional soccer nor has he held any serious administrative position. However, the Baltimore resident wants to run as the peoples' candidate to implement changes, which he says need to be urgently made to the world governing body. With a cheeky slogan of 'Cure the Blatter infection', Wahl is happy to paint himself as the rebellious outsider.

In Paris this week, Blatter and Bin Hammam were riding in separate luxury Mercedes to the Grand Palais as Michel Platini won a second four-year term as Uefa president, while Wahl was slumming it in the Metro. He flew to the French capital on an overnight flight at the back of economy class.

'I travel around the world covering football, and wherever I go the fans complain about Fifa because they don't think it's a clean organisation,' Wahl said.

'So I decided to do something about it by running for Fifa president. 'It's time to start changing the culture from a club made up entirely of old men. For a start, I would name a woman as general secretary and support some common-sense changes.'