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David Ginola to stand against Blatter at Fifa - is he serious?
French winger announces intention to dethrone Blatter, but support of Paddy Power raises questions
The winger, who played for Spurs and Newcastle in the 1990s, claims he represents "the football community" and wants to create a governing body that is "built on democracy, transparency and equality".
Not everyone is convinced that Ginola's campaign is genuine. The former L'Oreal shampoo model has has no experience of sports administration and his bid is being backed by bookmakers Paddy Power, who have an eye for a publicity stunt. But it has still generated plenty of debate.
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Fifa has been engulfed by scandal and allegations of corruption in recent years, yet reigning president Sepp Blatter is still favourite to secure a fifth term in office this May, despite challenges from within the organisation.
If the likes of Jerome Champagne and Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein of Jordan cannot stop Blatter, what chance does Ginola have?
Why is he standing
According to his campaign website Ginola's bid will be run "under a manifesto of democracy, transparency and equality". He will run a "a grassroots football fan led campaign" with the aim of creating "a Fifa that cares about one thing: football".
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"The people who follow football should have a voice and a cause," he says. "My voice is theirs. My cause is theirs."
Others are less convinced by his claims, and suspicious of Paddy Power's involvement. His campaign website features the bookmakers branding and they have a long history of publicity stunts. Owen Gibson of The Guardian was one of many to suggest that the Paddy Power connection undermines the credibility of the bid.
Having a credible former player stand up to Blatter on the issues that matter is a great idea. Having it backed by Paddy Power, not so much.— Owen Gibson (@owen_g) January 16, 2015
And while it would be churlish to question Ginola's love of the game it remains unclear what exactly prompted him to suddenly decide he wanted to run Fifa.
Is he eligible?
Aside from his motivations there is the issue of his experience. In order to stand he needs to convince Fifa he has played an active role in football administration for two of the last five years and also needs to be publicly nominated by five national associations before 29 January. That, says ESPN, "may prove an impossible task".
Even if his work as a pundit, with the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation charity and his role as an ambassador for England's doomed 2018 World Cup bid are enough to get him over the first hurdle, securing the backing of five member states could be even more tricky. Alliances within Fifa are entrenched, and the Daily Telegraph notes that even Prince Ali of Jordan could not convince his own Asian Football Confederation to withdraw its support for Blatter.
Who is supporting him
Aside from Paddy Power, the Ginola campaign has hired PR company M&C Saatchi, which should guarantee plenty of column inches. He also has the backing of Twitter-based campaign group Change Fifa, which is calling for widespread reform of Fifa.
In 2011 Change Fifa lent its support to a campaign by former Chile defender Elias Figueroa to challenge Blatter, but he eventually pulled out of the race.
And no matter how many supporters he has outside Fifa, it is support within the organisation that matters.
What are his chances
"Ginola would arguably win a public vote for the presidency, having obtained global popularity for his exploits on the field, particularly in the Premier League," says the Telegraph. However this is Fifa and Yahoo is frank about his chances. "The ex-Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur player has no chance of winning the election and is unlikely to get the required number of nominations to officially enter the race."
