Presidential candidate

Hayatou to challenge Blatter for FIFA top job

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) -- The head of the African Football Confederation, Issa Hayatou, said Saturday he will challenge Sepp Blatter for the FIFA presidency, the top position in world soccer.

Hayatou, a Cameroonian, announced his candidacy following an executive committee meeting of the African confederation (CAF) in Cairo.

"The executive committee has unanimously decided to ask me to present my papers for candidacy. I accepted the request," Hayatou said at a news conference held at a luxury Cairo hotel.

The former professional footballer, who has headed CAF since 1988, vowed to work for a new FIFA by bringing in "a new era of clean and transparent administration" and reforms if elected president. He did not elaborate.

The FIFA presidential vote will be held before the upcoming World Cup in Japan and South Korea, which begins May 31.

Commenting on his chance of winning the post, Hayatou said he would not have entered his bid if he was not sure about the level of support he had, in particular from the more than 40 African national soccer federations.

Blatter, from Switzerland, is seeking a second four-year term as head of soccer's world governing body.

The 66-year-old Swiss president has come under criticism after the US$300 million collapse of marketing partners ISL/ISMM on the 2002 and 2006 World Cups.

Last month, Hayatou's vice president at CAF, Farah Addo, also alleged that Blatter's Arab backers had tried to buy his vote before the FIFA presidential election in Paris in June 1998.

The man accused of paying bribes, FIFA executive committee member Mohamed bin Hammam, has denounced the charges as lies. Hammam, a Qatari, told a Swiss newspaper Addo's aim is to get Muslims into positions of power in world soccer and wants to see Hayatou defeat Blatter.

The CAF was established in 1957 gathering all the FIFA member soccer teams in Africa. Before heading the CAF, Hayatou held leading positions in the Cameroonian soccer federation -- including its top post -- dating back to 1974.

Hayatou belongs to a camp of FIFA executives critical of Blatter that includes UEFA head and previous FIFA presidential candidate Lennart Johansson and Chung Mong-joon, South Korea's soccer chief.

Johansson and an aide to Chung both attended the CAF executive committee in Cairo and endorsed Hayatou's candidacy.

Johansson, from Sweden, said he and Hayatou had worked together in the soccer community for a long time, during which the Cameroonian had proven "that he is not only a man of honor but also a very productive man who knows the meaning of transparency, loyalty and solidarity."

Scathing attack

In Seoul, Chung launched a scathing attack on Blatter on Saturday, declaring support for Blatter's rival in the race for the presidency of soccer's world governing body..

"Mr. Chung decided not to run himself but will support Mr. Hayatou," said Lin Byung-taik, spokesman for the Korean Organizing Committee for the 2002 World Cup, which Chung leads as a co-chairman.

Chung said he consulted with Hayatou and agreed he should run as a "unified candidate" to challenge Blatter.

Under Blatter, "the world football organization became embroiled in internal strife and division in leadership," Chung said in a statement.

Chung said it was time for a figure from Africa or Asia to lead FIFA.

"A democratic system should be in place where (the) FIFA president may be elected from Asia or Africa as well as from Europe and South America," he said.

"We can create a new system in the near future, where each continent may have an opportunity for (the) FIFA presidency," he added. "It is also hoped that an Asian member could take the helm of the world's football governing body in the near future."

For weeks, Chung has said that he and Hayatou were discussing who should stand against Blatter in the election, to take place just ahead of the May 31 start of the World Cup, which South Korea is co-hosting with Japan.

Blatter, from Switzerland, took his job by defeating Lennart Johansson, head of European soccer's governing body, UEFA, in a closely contested election in 1998. He is running again for a second four-year term.

Aides described Chung as a close ally of Hayatou and Johansson.

"It is particularly noteworthy that since his election, Mr. Blatter has largely neglected the member associations of Asia," Chung said.

Chung blamed Blatter for FIFA's decision to decrease the number of slots for Asia in the World Cup finals from 3.5 in 1998 to two in the 2002 World Cup.

He accused Blatter of downplaying the seriousness of the dlrs 300 million collapse of marketing partners ISL/ISMM in the 2002 and 2006 World Cups, and of violating FIFA statutes last November to borrow dlrs 420 million from investment bank Credit Suisse First Boston in a loan secured against World Cup receipts.

Chung said Blatter's wages were too high and accused him of using financial assistance programs for FIFA member associations for his own election campaign.

"Recently, as questions began to be raised about lack of transparency in FIFA's management and financial health, a majority of FIFA Executive Committee members repeatedly demanded Mr. Blatter to disclose more information about FIFA's finances," Chung said. "But these calls largely went unheeded."

Chung, 50, a FIFA vice president, has been chief of South Korea's Football Association since 1993. He is a four-time national legislator and the controlling shareholder in Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world's largest shipbuilder.

Domestic news media speculate that Chung might run for South Korea's presidential election in December.

 

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