Frenchman Jerome Champagne has confirmed his intention to run for the FIFA presidency.
Champagne will challenge incumbent Sepp Blatter, who announced last week that he would definitely stand for a fifth term, a reversal of his previous insistence that he would stand down.
Champagne, 56, is a former diplomat who joined FIFA in 1999, serving as an executive for 11 years.
Since leaving the world governing body in 2010 he has advised various football federations and was football commissioner for the World Festival of Black Arts in Dakar.
Champagne confirmed his candidacy in a letter posted on his website, which read: "I have the honour of informing you that I have just written to the FIFA Ad-hoc Electoral Committee and its president, Mr Domenico Scala, to confirm my intention to run for FIFA president.
"On a personal level, I am happy that the debate about the future of FIFA and football has finally begun with the prospect of various candidates.
"First and foremost, debating about issues is a normal process in an institution based on democratic principles. Then, this debate is particularly indispensable for football.
"We have to take clear and informed decisions on whether we want to continue with the current economic polarisation, and the sporting imbalances it brings in its wake, or be willing to rebalance the game in our globalised 21st century."
Champagne went on to call for FIFA to be more democratic, inclusive and receptive to its member organisations, while he has also proposed public and televised debates to be held between all the candidates.
He added: "The 2015 election must not be determined on the basis of individual appeal but on vision and agenda, to which we must commit for the next decade, and the willingness and ability to diligently execute a programme that has been agreed to by the invested parties.
"The next 10 years will be crucial for football and very particularly for FIFA, which is at a crossroads and in need of sweeping changes that must take it further than what has been accomplished to date."
The election will take place at the FIFA Congress next May.
Source: PA
