--- description: The Frenchman currently heads the European confederation, UEFA title: Platini Is Hot Favorite to Become the Next FIFA President image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4620c9a6081e765b/69885bb03c1639ce99458eae/rtx1fxe4.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Sports](/section/sports/) ## Sports Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Soccer](/tag/soccer/) ## Soccer Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # France's Michel Platini Is Hot Favorite to Become the Next President of FIFA by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 21, 2015 3:08 AM CUT  UEFA President Michel Platini holds a news conference a year before the start of Euro 2016, in Paris, France, June 10, 2015. UEFA President Michel Platini holds a news conference a year before the start of Euro 2016, in Paris, France, June 10, 2015.Charles Platiau—Reuters by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 21, 2015 3:08 AM CUT Amid widespread speculation over who will be the next president of soccer’s scandal-hit world governing body FIFA, France’s Michel Platini has emerged as an immensely popular contender among [more than half](http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/20/us-soccer-fifa-platini-idUSKCN0PU0W720150720 "undefined") of the organization’s constituent bodies — should he decide to stand for the election next year. Four out of six continental confederations under FIFA would back Platini — who currently heads the European confederation UEFA — in the election, a source close to UEFA told Reuters. The confederations representing Asia (AFC), North and Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF), and South America (CONMEBOL) have reportedly declared their support for the legendary midfielder, although none of them were available to confirm. Africa (CAF) and Oceania (OCF) comprise the rest of FIFA’s immediate subdivisions. The 60-year-old Frenchman, known as one of the world’s best during his playing career in the ’70s and ’80s, has not yet decided whether he will stand for the election to replace FIFA’s disgraced former president Sepp Blatter. Blatter [announced his resignation](http://time.com/3905860/sepp-blatter-fifa-president-resigns/ "undefined") last month as a [corruption scandal](http://time.com/3910054/fifa-scandal-sepp-blatter/ "undefined") engulfed world soccer’s apex body, and FIFA has set Feb. 26 for fresh elections. **Read next:** [Reform Will Top the Agenda at FIFA’s Executive Committee Meeting](http://time.com/3963905/fifa-reform-executive-committee-soccer-domenico-scala/ "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3965344/fifa-election-michel-platini-support-uefa/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3965344/fifa-election-michel-platini-support-uefa/"},"headline":"France's Michel Platini Is Hot Favorite to Become the Next President of FIFA","datePublished":"2015-07-21T03:08:04.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T09:25:03.481Z","description":"Four of six world soccer confederations would reportedly support the current UEFA chief's candidacy","url":"https://time.com/3965344/fifa-election-michel-platini-support-uefa/","keywords":["Soccer","France","corruption","Scandal","Election","FIFA","Sepp Blatter"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4620c9a6081e765b/69885bb03c1639ce99458eae/rtx1fxe4.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rishi Iyengar","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4620c9a6081e765b/69885bb03c1639ce99458eae/rtx1fxe4.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"UEFA President Michel Platini holds a news conference a year before the start of Euro 2016, in Paris","caption":"UEFA President Michel Platini holds a news conference a year before the start of Euro 2016, in Paris","creditText":"Charles Platiau—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/soccer/","name":"Soccer"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3965344/fifa-election-michel-platini-support-uefa/","name":"France's Michel Platini Is Hot Favorite to Become the Next President of FIFA"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Comedian Throws Fake Money at Sepp Blatter","description":"Comedian Throws Fake Money at Sepp Blatter","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/YX53V0LB/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-07-20T16:20:05.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/YX53V0LB.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3965344/fifa-election-michel-platini-support-uefa/","duration":"PT23S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3965344/fifa-election-michel-platini-support-uefa/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```