Saudi Arabia calls for enhanced international cooperation to address water sector challenges    Survey: 60% will use Riyadh Metro to go for work or school    GCC Preparatory Ministerial Meeting discusses developments in Gaza and Lebanon    Saudi Arabia hosts over 13 million foreign residents from 60 countries, says human rights official    RCRC Chief: Riyadh Metro, featuring environmental sustainability, will improve quality of life and revolutionize transportation    Al Taawoun seals AFC Champions League Two knockout spot with 2-1 win over Al Khaldiya    Al-Jasser: Riyadh Metro to accommodate one million passengers daily    Al-Jasser: 122,000 jobs generated in transport sector in a year    Israelis survey damage and mull return to north as ceasefire begins    Israel to appeal against ICC warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant    Trump nominates Keith Kellogg as special envoy for Ukraine and Russia    Missing hiker found alive after more than five weeks in wilderness    Elon Musk publicizes names of government employees he wants to cut    Al Hilal advances to AFC Champions League knockout stage despite 1-1 draw with Al Sadd    Best-selling novelist Barbara Taylor Bradford dies    Cristiano Ronaldo's double powers Al Nassr to 3-1 win over Al Gharafa in AFC Champions League    Most decorated Australian Olympian McKeon retires    Adele doesn't know when she'll perform again after tearful Vegas goodbye    'Pregnant' for 15 months: Inside the 'miracle' pregnancy scam    Do cigarettes belong in a museum?    Order vs. Morality: Lessons from New York's 1977 Blackout    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Filipino pilgrim's incredible evolution from an enemy of Islam to its staunch advocate    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Chung announces bid to run for FIFA president
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 18 - 08 - 2015

PARIS — Announcing his bid to run for FIFA president, Chung Mong-Joon pledged to help the governing body clean itself up if he gets elected.
Speaking at a news conference in Paris Monday, the South Korean said “it is my privilege and honor to announce my candidacy,” before quickly turning his sights on long-serving president Sepp Blatter.
After 17 years as FIFA president, Blatter said on June 2 he was standing down, under pressure from American and Swiss federal investigations of widespread corruption implicating senior FIFA officials.
“The real reason FIFA has become such a corrupt organization is because the same person and his cronies have been running it for 40 years. Absolute power corrupts absolutely,” Chung said. “It has pained me to witness the spectacle of the FIFA president being booed by the fans at football stadiums everywhere. In 2011, when a European sports magazine conducted a survey asking ‘What do you think about FIFA President Joseph Blatter?' 95 percent said ‘Blatter is ruining football.'“
On May 27, a United States federal investigation of corruption in world soccer was unleashed on FIFA. Though Blatter won re-election two days later, it took only four more days before he decided to step down.
Chung, a FIFA honorary vice president, promised change if he wins the election on Feb. 26.
“Under these circumstances, the FIFA president must be a crisis manager and a reformer. He must be more than just a head of the technical department,” the 63-year-old South Korean Chung said at a Paris hotel. “After decades of an ever-widening circle of corruption, FIFA needs a leader who can bring back common sense, transparency and accountability.”
UEFA President Michel Platini has already declared his candidacy and is widely favored to replace Blatter. The former France midfielder, a FIFA insider after 13 years as an executive committee member, has taken advantage of his access to soccer powerbrokers.
At the Champions League final in Berlin and FIFA meetings in Zurich and St. Petersburg, Russia, he outlined his plans and gained early support.
“Michel was a great football player. I played golf twice with Michel, his swing is not that great, it's lucky he chose football instead of golf,” Chung said, who criticized Platini for having a “father and son” and “mentor-student” relationship with Blatter over the years.
Platini was formerly a supporter of Blatter.
Would-be candidates must apply by Oct. 26. FIFA members from the 209 national federations elect the president.
Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein of Jordan, who lost the last FIFA election vote 133-73 to Blatter on May 29, is also touted to stand again. Former Brazil great Zico, who scored 48 goals in 71 games for his country, and Liberian soccer federation president Musa Bility are also among those reportedly planning to run.
Chung was a member of FIFA's executive committee from the mid-1990s until 2011. During that time, he was an opponent of Blatter.
In a clear swipe at Platini, who is now an outspoken opponent of Blatter, Chung said “it has suddenly become very fashionable to be Blatter's enemy, this is too convenient.”
A former equestrian rider and cross-country skier and president of the Korean Football Association, Chung failed in his bid to become mayor of Seoul last year.
Chung launched his campaign despite having little obvious support in Asia, where South Korea's influence has weakened. — AP


Clic here to read the story from its source.