FIFA: David Ginola insists quest for FIFA top job is genuine
Monday 19 January 2015 20:51, UK
David Ginola has told Sky Sports News HQ that his bid to stand as a candidate for the presidency of FIFA is no publicity stunt.
The former Tottenham and Newcastle star last week announced his intention to run for the biggest job in football, and it was revealed that his quest had the backing of a bookmaker.
Ginola told Sky Sports News HQ that his bid was genuine and he is busy trying to garner the necessary support before the end of the month. He needs the backing of five member football associations in order to prevent his campaign being stopped in its tracks.
He said: "We are not laughing about this. You can laugh if you want. We are taking this seriously. I am not a politician but I am very confident that in the next few days people will be behind me. We see the campaign as something very positive for the people and for the world of football.
"The main priority is to get the support of five different football associations before the end of January. This is something that we have worked on for weeks and months. We have nine different policies we want to put in place, we want to restore trust in FIFA.
"There are no guarantees that we will get that support, but we will be working on this very hard. You look at the candidates who are standing, they may have worked or are working for FIFA, but I am an independent candidate and I think it is good to have such a voice in a debate. Things must change. FIFA has a duty to leave a positive legacy and our first initiative is to work on tax.
"When you have the World Cup and you get four billion dollars out of it I think the least you can do is give something back to the country. Because of that we want to work with the community and I think the $250m would have been well received by the local community in Brazil.
"I am not against the other candidates who are standing, Mr Blatter, Jerome Champagne or Prince Ali. I am just doing my best for the fans and the game."
