FIFA vice president Chung Mong-joon said Tuesday he is not considering running against Sepp Blatter in next year's presidential elections.
Speaking in London last week, the 58-year-old South Korean last week hinted that he might be ready to stand for the top job, but on Tuesday Chung said his sole focus was on helping South Korea in its battle to be awarded the 2022 World Cup.
''The first and foremost goal for me personally and for the South Korean government is to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup,'' Chung was quoted as saying by Korean news agency Yonhap. ''I am not thinking about running for presidency in 2011.''
Blatter, president for the last 12 years, has confirmed he will stand for a fourth term in May's vote, but as yet, no challenger has emerged.
The 74-year-old from Switzerland was re-elected unopposed in 2007, and Chung said last week he hoped there would be competition for Blatter in May.
''It's still too early to say there will be no contender next May,'' he said. ''In order to keep a large organization like FIFA healthy you need healthy competition.''
Chung is hoping to help South Korea defeat Qatar, Australia, Japan and the United States in the race to host the 2022 World Cup. FIFA's 24-man Executive Committee, of which Chung is a member, will vote on Dec. 2.
