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Former FIFA presidential candidate Luis Figo has called the revelation of corruption in the organising body as the "worst nightmare" for football fans as he urged greater unity to protect the sport's reputation. "These recent revelations are mind-blowing and have shocked all of us who love football," Figo told Network90 in a statement supplied to ESPN FC. Figo was challenging Sepp Blatter for FIFA's top position until last week, when he resigned with heavy criticism for the election process, calling it designed "for the delivery of absolute power to one man." The former Portuguese international blamed Blatter for pitting countries against one another and pushed countries to work together, even after UEFA president Michel Platini could not rule out a European boycott of future tournaments. "We need to unite to tackle corruption and work together globally to rescue the reputation of the beautiful game," Figo told Network90, a private sports networking platform. "This is the worst nightmare for the hundreds of millions of people around the world who love football." The FIFA presidential election will go on as scheduled on Friday, with Figo throwing his support behind the only remaining challenger, Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein of Jordan. "I withdrew from the race to be FIFA President to support Prince Ali because I believe in him. But my determination to drive corruption from the sport I love has not changed," Figo said.
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