<p>Sepp Blatter's former right-hand man Jerome Champagne officially launched his bid to stand for the FIFA presidency on Monday, firing the first shot in a potential 15-month battle for control of the world's richest and most influential sport.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Frenchman Champagne, 55, a former diplomat, worked at FIFA for 11 years between 1999 and 2010 and is a former deputy Secretary General of world soccer's governing body.<br /><br />The presidential elections will take place in June 2015 with Blatter expected to stand for a fifth term and facing a possible challenge from UEFA president Michel Platini for the role second only to the presidency of the International Olympic Committee in global sporting importance.<br /><br />Champagne, speaking at the London site where the English FA, the world's oldest, was founded in 1863, ended months of speculation by declaring his bid on a platform of reform based on his far-reaching 20,000-word document "What FIFA for the 21st century ?" published in 2012.<br /><br />He said his election slogans: "Hope for Football, Hope for All" and "Re-Balance the Game in a Globalised 21st Century" emphasise his message of curbing the polarisation of the game into pockets of elite clubs in Europe's richest leagues.<br /><br />Champagne said he was advocating major changes to modernise the organisation: "It needs to be more transparent and more in tune with the modern world. We need to redress the imbalances in the world game.”</p>
<p>Sepp Blatter's former right-hand man Jerome Champagne officially launched his bid to stand for the FIFA presidency on Monday, firing the first shot in a potential 15-month battle for control of the world's richest and most influential sport.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Frenchman Champagne, 55, a former diplomat, worked at FIFA for 11 years between 1999 and 2010 and is a former deputy Secretary General of world soccer's governing body.<br /><br />The presidential elections will take place in June 2015 with Blatter expected to stand for a fifth term and facing a possible challenge from UEFA president Michel Platini for the role second only to the presidency of the International Olympic Committee in global sporting importance.<br /><br />Champagne, speaking at the London site where the English FA, the world's oldest, was founded in 1863, ended months of speculation by declaring his bid on a platform of reform based on his far-reaching 20,000-word document "What FIFA for the 21st century ?" published in 2012.<br /><br />He said his election slogans: "Hope for Football, Hope for All" and "Re-Balance the Game in a Globalised 21st Century" emphasise his message of curbing the polarisation of the game into pockets of elite clubs in Europe's richest leagues.<br /><br />Champagne said he was advocating major changes to modernise the organisation: "It needs to be more transparent and more in tune with the modern world. We need to redress the imbalances in the world game.”</p>