ACTUALITE |
16.03.2002
Hayatou to take on Blatter
The head of African football has confirmed his intention to stand against under-fire Sepp Blatter for the presidency of Fifa.
Issa Hayatou, current president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), will receive strong backing for his bid to oust Blatter, who is seeking a second four-year term.
Hayatou`s bid to become the first African head of world football has been endorsed by Uefa president Lennart Johansson, and Chung Mong-joon, the powerful head of the Asian confederation.
Former professional player Hayatou has been a stern critic of Blatter who is under fire for vote-rigging allegations, and is standing on a pledge to clean up Fifa`s administration.
Hayatou claimed: "If I become president, then my office will be transparent and open.
"You can look at the books of CAF right now and see all the information you want. I believe it should be the same at Fifa.
"Mr Blatter has done some good things for football but now I believe that the time has come for change."
Lennart Johansson will give Hayatou his support
Johansson was beaten by Blatter for the presidency four years ago and is one of a powerful group of Fifa top names critical of the Swiss president of football`s world governing body.
He is has thrown his weight firmly behind Hayatou`s bid, and at Saturday`s press conference in Cairo sat alongside the CAF president.
Johansson said: "I give him my full support and I sincerely hope he has a victory."
Blatter has denied allegations of bribery in his 1998 election campaign, but was forced into an embarrassing U-turn to set up an inquiry into into Fifa`s finances.
The current Fifa president has been heavily criticised for his handling of the collapse of Fifa`s marketing partners, ISL, at a cost of around £45m.
Hayatou, who has been CAF president since 1988, was one of 13 executive committee members who demanded an investigation into the losses suffered by Fifa.
Blatter`s opponents won a significant victory in Zurich when a six-strong group was appointed to investigate the effects of the ISL affair.
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Hits: 1 | Source:BBC | |
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