David Ginola joins Fifa race – but is it just a stunt?
Former Tottenham player to announce plans today, but doubtful whether he has enough support to be nominated
Former France international David Ginola is set to announce Friday that he wants to stand against incumbent Sepp Blatter for the presidency of Fifa, several British media outlets reported Thursday.
The ex-Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur player is expected to confirm his wish to challenge Blatter during a news conference in London, with bookmaker Paddy Power and Twitter-based campaign changeFifa among his supporters.
However, doubts remain whether Ginola will in fact be allowed to stand given a Fifa rule requiring presidential candidates to have played an active role in football administration for two of the past five years and be publicly nominated by five member associations – something many observers feel Ginola has little chance of achieving.
Also, Paddy Power has become notorious in Britain for high-profile publicity stunts.
But should Ginola, 47, be serious, he is in line to become the third candidate to confirm he is standing following fellow Frenchman Jerome Champagne, a former Fifa executive, and Jordan’s Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein, a Fifa vice-president.
Veteran Swiss administrator Blatter is set to announce in the next fortnight that he will be seeking a fifth term as Fifa president and he is widely expected to remain as the head of world football’s global governing body.