Ginola's punt on FIFA presidency

A prime example of putting the flair into French football in his 1990s playing days, David Ginola on Friday told reporters in London that he would run for the FIFA presidency, saying world football's governing body needed to be "refreshed."

"It is time that football was refreshed," Ginola said. "We have to be brave and deal with what is going on in this game we love."

Irish bookmaker Paddy Power is sponsoring Ginola's surprise campaign, which rather seems the stuff of 10,000-to-one accumulator dreamland at the moment.

In order to even qualify to run, Ginola would have to win support from members of five of FIFA's six continental football federations, as well as prove activity as a football functionary over the past two years.

There was widespread doubt among the journalists in attendance at Ginola's press conference on Friday that these conditions could be met by the application deadline of January 29. The Frenchman was greeted by a string of "gotcha" questions, as US politician of old Sarah Palin might have called them.

Ginola was also caught out by questions pertaining to third party club ownership and the mechanisms he would use as FIFA president to change football rules; German journalist Peter Ahrens of "Der Spiegel" was equally unimpressed, writing on Twitter in German: "This Ginola number is laughable. It offers the office precisely the dignity which it deserves," he wrote.

'Team Ginola' to clean up FIFA?

"I know it will not be easy for me to be elected but I have to try. I always did my best on the pitch and I will do the same now," Ginola said in an interview with British newspaper "The Sun," published on Friday.

The charismatic former Tottenham, Newcastle and Paris St Germain winger - well known in England as one of the most successful early international imports into the Premier League - also issued a video appeal to fans calling for their support in his bid to change FIFA.

"I'm standing because like you, I love football," Ginola said. "Whether you are on the terraces or on the pitch we all know that the FIFA system isn't working. The game needs to change, but I can't change it on my own. I need you to stand up and change it with me."

The 47-year-old former France international said that supporting "Team Ginola" was a vote for a FIFA "built on democracy, transparency and equality."

At least three horses in FIFA race, but only one favorite

Incumbent Sepp Blatter is the runaway favorite to win a fifth term as FIFA president at the organization's annual Zurich conference in May. But, unlike the last unopposed ballot, the Swiss incumbent is set to face some competition - whether Ginola makes the grade or not.

Jerome Champagne, a FIFA insider and Blatter ally for years until the two drifted apart, was the first to announce his intention to seek Blatter's post. In the mean time, however, Jordan Prince Ali Bin Hussein, a FIFA Vice-president, has also entered the fray. UEFA President Michel Platini, once tipped as a serious potential contender for Blatter, opted not to risk his spot at the top of European football.

Would-be candidates have until January 29 to put their names forward, the election will take place in May.

According to the Paddy Power website, the bookmaker is paying Ginola 250,000 pounds (328,000 euros, $380,000) to seek the FIFA presidency.

msh/al (AFP, dpa, Reuters)