2016 FIFA Presidential - Michel Platini withdraws candidacy for FIFA presidency Thursday January 07,2016

Michel Platini has formally withdrawn his candidacy for the Fifa presidency  and said he will dedicate himself to overturning his eight-year ban.

The  UEFA President,banned by FIFA's Ethics Committee from all Football related activity for 8 years  over a 2m Swiss franc payment (£1.3m) he received from the Fifa president Sepp Blatter in 2011, said he had originally received 150 declarations of support when he announced he would run but had now been forced to pull out of the election on 26 February - it is also unclear whether any appeal process would have been completed by that date.

The move by the 60-year-old will clear the path for the other 5 candidates in the race to succeed Blatter as there was still the possibility that Platini could stand if he had overturned the ban on appeal

Who will be the next Fifa boss?

There are five candidates to succeed Blatter, who has been Fifa president since 1998:

• Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa - 50, Bahrain, president of Asian Football Confederation;
• Tokyo Sexwale - 62, South Africa, politician, businessman and former political prisoner;
• Prince Ali bin al-Hussein - 40, Jordan, a former Fifa vice-president and 2015 Fifa presidential candidate;
• Gianni Infantino - 45, Switzerland, Uefa general secretary and a member of Fifa's reform committee;
• Jerome Champagne - 57, France, a former Fifa assistant general secretary and former French diplomat.

Voting will take place by secret ballot in Feb 2016, with all Fifa's 209 member states having a vote each.