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David Ginola wants support of Wales in bid for FIFA presidency

David Ginola is hoping to count on the support of the Football Association of Wales in his bid for the FIFA presidency.

The 47-year-old Frenchman is challenging incumbent FIFA president Sepp Blatter for the top job in world football but he needs the backing of at least five national associations to stand against the 78-year-old Swiss who has been in office since 1998.

Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein of Jordan, a member of FIFA's executive committee and a vice-president of the world governing body, has also said he would stand against Blatter at the FIFA Congress in May. Former FIFA deputy secretary general Jerome Champagne also insists he remains intent on running for office.

Ginola, the former Newcastle and Tottenham winger, has taken his coaching badges with the FAW and was in Cardiff on Monday to drum up support for his campaign.

"The main priority is to get the five FAs before the end of January," Ginola told Sky Sports. "Hopefully Wales will back the campaign but they are not the only ones, there are other FAs around Europe and around the world.

"Our main target is to talk to other associations, make sure we get the five FAs and then carry on until the election.

"We will work hard to make sure it's going to happen."

Ginola's bid has the backing of pressure group ChangeFIFA, which has long campaigned for new leadership at the top of an organisation that has faced numerous allegations of corruption.

But the bid is also supported by bookmaker Paddy Power and has been dismissed as a publicity stunt in some quarters.

"This is something real and we will work hard for weeks and months," Ginola said. "We will be getting into details this week because we want to restore trust in FIFA.

"I am an independent voice and it's nice to have that different voice in the debate, to say that things can change and to leave a positive legacy behind.

"When you get $4 billion out of the World Cup, the first thing you can do is to give something back to the country.

"We want to work with local communities and I think $250 million would have been welcomed by the local community in Brazil.

"The only thing I can say in the debate is that we will give another voice from outside FIFA.

"But I'm not from outside football. I'm a former football player and football has been my life, I dreamed of being a football player when I was nine and I played until I was 35.

"There is some space for us at FIFA and I am very confident in the next few days that people in the world of football will be behind me."

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