Skip to main content

Blatter and Bin Hammam hit campaign trail

Both men spent part of the day at the same luxury hotel near the Arc de Triumph where members of all 53 European associations are gathering for Tuesday's UEFA Congress.

Also present was American journalist Grant Wahl, who hopes to stand as a protest candidate.

FIFA's 208 member associations have a vote apiece in the presidential election which will be held in Zurich on June 1 and with 53 members, more than other confederation, UEFA is one of the key regions.

Bin Hammam, president of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and formerly a close personal friend of Blatter, said that football was stagnating under the Swiss's leadership.

"Mr Blatter came wanting eight years, two mandates, then 12 years and three mandates, and now four mandates and actually nothing is changing in the last three or four years," Bin Hammam told reporters.

"I am someone who has been contributing to football through my presidency of the Asian confederation, my love for football and my membership of the FIFA executive committee and I don't see anything is moving, anything is changing.