Brazil great Romario to run for Brazilian Football Confederation presidency in bid to clean up widespread corruption

Sign up to the Independent's betting newsletter for the latest tips and offers

Sign up to the Independent's betting newsletter

Please enter a valid email address

Please enter a valid email address

SIGN UP

I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice

Former Brazil striker and 1994 World Cup champion Romario said on Tuesday he plans to run for president of the scandal-plagued Brazilian Football Confederation [CBF] on an anti-corruption platform.

Romario, 51, now a senator who has led congressional investigations into corruption in Brazilian football, announced his intentions four days after CBF President Marco Polo del Nero was suspended for 90 days by football world body Fifa.

Del Nero is being investigated in Brazil for alleged unethical conduct. He and his two predecessors, Ricardo Teixeira and Jose Maria Marin, have been charged in the United States in the biggest corruption scandal in football's history.

“No one has fought so vigorously against that gang than me, and so I am a legitimate candidate," Romario said on Instagram. "I have the qualifications for the job. My credentials are my whole contribution to soccer, on and off the field.”

He blamed former Fifa president Joao Havelange, who died last year, for installing a “system” of graft in Brazilian football and beyond.

Romario called for the prosecution of Marin, Teixeira and Del Nero at the end of a congressional inquiry he led last year into corruption in Brazilian soccer.

Romario helped Brazil win a record fourth World Cup title in 1994 in the United States.

His popularity won him a seat as a congressman and then senator for his home state of Rio de Janeiro. He has said he plans to run for governor of Rio to reform the financially bankrupt state.

Reuters