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Former Manchester United chief exec David Gill nominated for Fifa vice-presidency role
David Gill, the former chief executive of Manchester United, has been nominated by the FA for a vice-presidency role on Fifa’s executive committee.
The FA vice-chairman claims he could be a “driving force” for reform if elected to the committee. In the past Gill has publicly called upon Fifa president Sepp Blatter to step down from his role.
The Fifa ExCo is the headed by Blatter, and is the organisation responsible for choosing the host tournament for the World Cup and other Fifa tournaments.
Uefa member associations will vote for their next vice-presidents to sit on the committee in March next year. Gill would replace the outgoing Jim Boyce of Northern Ireland.
If elected, all eyes would be on how Gill would challenge the authority of Blatter, of whom he has made pretty clear he is not a fan.
After walking out of a Fifa executive meeting in June last year, Gill was asked if he thought Blatter should step down. He replied: “Personally yes, I think we need to move on. I think we need a full, frank and open debate about what FIFA needs going forward."
Before joining the FA, Gill worked as Manchester United chief executive for 10 years between 2003 – 2013. In that time the club not only won five Premier League titles and the Champions League in 2008, but also recorded some of the highest revenues in football.
However, many United fans may primarily remember Gill as the man who signed off on the Glazers' controversial takeover in 2005, and then criticised those who chose to protest against it.
Gill has worked on the Uefa executive committee since leaving Old Trafford.
Today he said:
This is a decision I have been thinking about for some time. Although I had initially wanted to focus on developing my relatively new role within Uefa, I believe there is an opportunity, if elected, to use the Fifa position to make a real difference while complementing that ongoing work.Having sounded out many people across the game including fellow board members at Manchester United, The FA and Uefa, I would hope to make a positive contribution and use my candidacy to drive a debate for continued reform.