LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) Former Nigeria international Segun Odegbami says he wants to run for the FIFA presidency and succeed Sepp Blatter.
The 63-year-old Odegbami, a former national team forward, said that his bid may seem ''far-fetched'' but ''the international football environment reveals the real possibility of such change.''
''The world is very interested in who becomes the next president of FIFA considering the present images and state of this institution,'' Odegbami said in a statement published in the Nigerian media on Wednesday. ''I see myself fitting into this role.''
Blatter is stepping down amid American and Swiss investigations into corruption at the world body.
Odegbami, a star for Nigeria in the late 1970s and early `80s, has worked as a football commentator and analyst in his homeland. However, he has never held a job at the top level of football administration.
He joins two other Africans who have declared their interest. Liberia Football Association President Musa Bility announced his intention to stand in June. Another Nigerian, former state governor Orji Uzor Kalu, has also said he wants to be a candidate.
South African businessman Tokyo Sexwale, an apartheid-era political prisoner who is now a member of FIFA's anti-discrimination task force, is considering whether to enter the race.
Prospective candidates must be nominated by at least five national football federations by Oct. 26 and pass integrity checks to get on the FIFA presidential election ballot. The election is on Feb. 26.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.