Sepp Blatter Confirms Candidacy for FIFA Presidency Re-Election
Sepp Blatter, the long-serving president of FIFA, has officially confirmed he will seek re-election next year. Speaking on Monday at Soccerex, the international football conference held in Manchester, Blatter stated, “Yes, I will be ready, I will be a candidate.”
The Swiss football chief, who has been at the helm since 1998, plans to make his formal announcement at the upcoming FIFA General Assembly. “I will inform the Executive Committee. It is a matter of respect to tell the football family,” Blatter added.
While Blatter’s intention to stand again has been widely anticipated since last year, so far only one other candidate has officially declared: French football administrator Jérôme Champagne.
However, Blatter was previously seen as facing a significant challenger in UEFA president Michel Platini. Platini, once considered a strong contender for the FIFA presidency, recently announced his decision to withdraw from the race. He explained, “It’s the choice of the heart. The choice of football. The choice of passion. We have very big projects to carry out at UEFA and I have an unwavering desire to complete them before perhaps considering moving on to something else one day. But this is not the moment, this is not my time. Not yet.”
With Platini stepping aside, Blatter remains the clear frontrunner as the football world looks ahead to the next presidential election at FIFA.
