( CNN ) -- FIFA president Sepp Blatter said he would step aside as the head of football 's global governing body in 2015 , if he wins the June 1 presidential ballot . Blatter 's announcement came on Tuesday after his opponent , head of the Asian Football Confederation ( AFC ) Mohamed Bin Hammam , told CNN the time had arrived for a change at the top of world soccer 's power base . Bin Hammam -- a 61-year-old FIFA executive committee member -- confirmed last week he would run against Blatter in the election , the first candidate to do so since Africa 's Issa Hayatou was defeated by the Swiss in 2002 . `` You know very well that I am a candidate for the next four years as FIFA president but these will be the last four years for which I stand , '' Blatter , 75 , told a UEFA congress in Paris . Can Bin Hammam change FIFA for the better ? Both men were present at a meeting of European football 's governing body in the French capital as they looked to secure backing ahead of the vote in Zurich . `` FIFA has been under the same presidency for 13 years , '' Bin Hammam told CNN . `` Mr Blatter has been heavily involved in the administration of FIFA for 35 years . I believe he has contributed a lot to the development of the game , but as I said , this is a long time . `` It is time for a new direction . A lot of fans today have grown up and they have only known Mr. Blatter as head of FIFA , or head of the administration of FIFA , so I think change is not the wrong thing . '' Blatter 's presidential rival vows reform . Bin Hammam , who has been at the summit of Asian football since 2002 , also said greater transparency is needed among the game 's decision makers . FIFA became mired in controversy ahead of their decision to award the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar respectively , with two executive committee members -- Amos Adamu and Reynald Temarri -- suspended amid allegations of selling votes . `` People would like to see transparency within FIFA , '' said Bin Hamman . `` FIFA is always accused of corruption and it is not ( corrupt ) . What is missing , and lacking , is transparency which over the years we could not provide to the public . '' A Qatar native , Bin Hammam also defended the emirates ' conduct during the bidding process for the 2022 tournament . `` Qatar played the game according to the law of the game . People were not happy , but people will not be happy with so many decisions taken by FIFA . `` I do n't think people were happy about Russia winning the right to host 2018 . Now is not the time to cry about something that happened in the past . Let us hope the future is going to be more transparent and more open for the public . '' Blatter -- the eighth incumbent of FIFA 's top job -- was this month boosted by the news the 2010 World Cup had made the non-profit organization $ 3.655 billion and said he was not expecting to be challenged in the forthcoming elections . Blatter : 2010 World Cup was a huge financial success . However , Bin Hammam announced he would compete for the role of FIFA chief on March 18 and has not spoken with Blatter since . `` Not since I announced I was running , I spoke to him maybe two weeks back . `` I hope Mr. Blatter realizes our game is about competition and there is nothing wrong with competing . I hope we will understand that competition does not mean we are enemies . '' Meanwhile , Frenchman Michel Platini has been re-elected unopposed as president of European football 's governing body UEFA on Tuesday . The 55-year-old former European Player of the Year will serve a second mandate of four years , having first been elected in 2007 when he took over from Lennart Johansson .
Sepp Blatter will step down as FIFA president in 2015 , if elected for another term . Comment: Bin Hammam is Blatter 's first election opponent since Issa Hayatou in 2002 . The vote for the FIFA presidency will take place in Zurich , Switzerland on June 1 .