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Jérôme Champagne

Keystone

Former FIFA Deputy General Secretary Jérome Champagne is one of the outsiders in the presidential race today. He portrays himself as down to earth and without flashiness. FIFA needs less publicity, not more he tells voters.

“I am not announcing a programme full of smoke and mirrors,” he said at the Hallenstadion, landing a dig against Gianni Infantino’s plan to increase the World Cup tournament to 40 teams.

Champagne promises to close the divide between continents and make FIFA more democratic. He wants development funding to be directed to the 100 poorest associations.

He also wants to fix the football transfer system that has spiraled out of control with huge fees being paid. And he promises to include football teams and other stakeholders more fully in FIFA decisions and activities.

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