Qatar’s Mohamed bin Hammam challenges Blatter to FIFA TV debate
March 22nd, 2011 - 3:09 pm ICT by ANILondon, Mar. 22 (ANI): Qatar’s FIFA presidential challenger Mohamed bin Hammam has challenged incumbent FIFA chief Sepp Blatter to a television debate, even as woos UEFA delegates who will prove pivotal to his chances of unseating Blatter.
The Qatari said he was also open to the possibility of making a deal with Michel Platini, the UEFA president, who is thought to have ambitions to run for the FIFA job himself in 2015 and so is likely to be opposed to the challenger.
“I am not going to lie to you and say that I am not going to talk to Michel about possible co-operation in the future, this has to be put frankly. I’m not telling you I am not going to do it but let’s wait and see,” the Guardian quoted him, as saying.
Platini’s ambitions to stand in 2015, following another four-year term as UEFA president, would be dealt a blow if Bin Hammam won in June.
But, if Bin Hammam offered to stand aside as FIFA president after one four-year term, it could impact on Platini’s thinking.
“In 1998 and 2002, Mr. Blatter was very new, very active and contributed a lot to the game, but now things are different. Blatter has been in charge for 13 years and at FIFA in total for 35 years,” he said.
He asked: “I’m 61 years old and have said to everyone that I have something to contribute. If we’re not given the chance today, then when? Mr Platini is maybe opposing me as he has the ambition to be president in 2015, but I have the ambition to be president in 2011. If we don’t get our chance today, when will we get our chance?”
Bin Hammam, who travelled to Paris for the UEFA Congress on the latest leg of a global tour of the various confederations that together make up the 208 votes on offer, underlined his campaign message that FIFA’s reputation needed to be rehabilitated in the eyes of the public.
“I think I can rehabilitate FIFA’s reputation. This is my vision and this is my goal. If I fail, then I fail. I’m looking for the support of everybody. I don’t have the support of everyone in Asia yet but have to work for it,” he added.
Bin Hammam’s presidential nomination has been backed by Yemen, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Thailand.
The Asian Football Confederation president said that he planned to see the Football Association next month and also had a meeting scheduled with Jack Warner, the controversial CONCACAF president who presides over an influential bloc of 37 votes. (ANI)
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Tags: 13 years, 35 years, ambition, ambitions, campaign message, challenger, congress, delegates, global tour, guardian, hammam, michel platini, mohamed, qatar, qatari, reputation, sepp blatter, television debate, tv debate, uefa