28 October 2015

Moscow

Press release of the President of World Chess Federation (FIDE) Kirsan Ilyumzhinov

At the 86th FIDE Congress held in Abu Dhabi (UAE) this year, the FIDE Vice President, President of Russian Chess Federation, Mr. Andrey Filatov made a proposal for me to run for the FIFA President’s office. I promised to consider the proposal while many domestic and foreign mass media got interested in this news, expanding the scale of discussions, full of encouragement and critical reviews of my address. I am making no secret of the fact that such a proposal did not surprise me; by that time, as the head of one of the major sports federations, I followed the situation concerning my colleagues in FIFA, saw their problems and calculated various ways to overcome the crisis. The change of authorities in any structure is a painful process and it demands that all people involved in it, show their best qualities: patience, attention to their colleagues, adherence to principles and honesty in the battle. I treat all candidates for the FIFA President’s office with due respect. All of them are talented people, with proper experience in management and they all know the game from within. I wish them all the success. I am flattered that some mass media called me "an experienced sports manager who also has football experience”. I do not exclude the possibility that I could be of benefit to the football world, but then at the FIDE Congress, I saw the proposal mainly as the possibility to further popularize chess.

As a result, the goal is accomplished, chess is a topic in the context of football, and our favorite game started attracting additional interest from sports amateurs, representatives of business circles and mass media. Recently I have visited a great number of countries, where I have held discussions also with the presidents of the national football federations, heads of clubs and famous players, such as Pele.

I am sure that the partnership relationships will contribute to the solution of problems and the further development of two of the most popular sports on the planet.

Gens una sumus!
Kirsan Ilyumzhinov

Press release (Russian)