Former Chelsea star Juan Mata reveals bid to sway Fifa presidential election
Former Chelsea and Manchester United star Juan Mata has launched a bid to influence next year’s Fifa presidential election.
Mata has helped to create Unleash Football, a platform for fans and players to share how they want the sport to be run, and plans to present the findings to current Fifa boss Gianni Infantino and anyone who decides to stand against him.
It comes amid widespread calls for changes to the way football’s world governing body operates following the abandoned plan to partially privatise the World Cup.
“Football has shaped my life, first as a supporter and then as a player, and the people who care most deeply about the game should have an equal voice in its future,” said Mata, a World Cup winner with Spain.
“We are often told that football belongs to the supporters and the players. But when did football last ask you? From today, that changes. Now is the time. Football has the opportunity to be better and to change, but we must act now, to build a game that serves everyone.”
Unleash Football is the latest collaboration between Mata and Jurgen Griesbeck, with whom he founded Common Goal, the initiative that encourages players and managers to pledge one per cent of their earnings to football-based social impact programmes.
Infantino yet to learn if he’ll face Fifa election rival
The findings of its survey will be collated into a set of fan and player priorities, dubbed a Mandate, and presented in November a few days before nominations close for Fifa’s presidential election. Unleash Football will publish the candidates’ responses.
Infantino, who has overseen sweeping and sometimes controversial changes during 10 years in office, is currently set to stand unopposed in March next year. Canadian Victor Montagliani, who runs the North American and Caribbean confederation, is seen as the most likely opponent.
“Football is much bigger than the football industry. It includes everyone who plays, loves or watches the game, whether they have a formal connection to a club or none at all – and its future should be built with those people, not just for them,” said Griesbeck.
“This is about unlocking 100 per cent of football – connecting the billions who give the game their time and their passion, who make football football, with the people who make its decisions, and seeing what becomes possible when they are part of the same conversation.”