By Daniel Etchells at Lancaster House in London

Franz Beckenbauer believes it will be difficult to stop Sepp Blatter in his quest for a fifth term as FIFA President ©ICSSFormer FIFA Executive Committee member Franz Beckenbauer claims it will be difficult for any other candidate to beat Sepp Blatter in next year's Presidential election because of the "trust" the incumbent Swiss enjoys.

Despite growing pressure for Blatter to resign amid alleged corruption during the bidding processes for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups, Beckenbauer, speaking at the International Centre for Sport Security's Securing Sport 2014 conference, said he cannot see any reason why the 78-year-old would not run for re-election, barring any problems with his health.

Former FIFA administrator Jérôme Champagne is currently the only opponent to Blatter, who is seeking to secure his fifth term.

"If Blatter feels fit enough and up to it, and if he feels up to serving an additional term of office, who should stop him?" questioned the German, who captained his country to World Cup victory in 1974 and managed them to success again in 1990. 

"There are hardly any other candidates.

"There is one alternative candidate, that's Jérôme Champagne, but we'll have to see.

"When I look at all the continental associations, whether that's in Africa or in Asia, perhaps not so much in Europe, I have to say that Sepp Blatter enjoys trust and that's why I think that everybody who wants to stand against him will find it difficult."

Franz Beckenbauer categorically denied being offered any bribe to vote for Russia or Qatar to stage the World Cup ©ICSSFranz Beckenbauer categorically denied being offered any bribe to vote for Russia or Qatar to stage the World Cup ©ICSS

Blatter insisted last month that the 350-page report into the awarding of the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 edition to Qatar, compiled by the chairman of the FIFA Investigatory Chamber, Michael Garcia, will remain a secret despite a number of calls for the findings to be made public.

When asked if he thinks the report should be released, Beckenbauer said: "If you have nothing to hide then you can make it public."

The German, part of the FIFA Executive Committee that chose Russia and Qatar, was banned by FIFA for refusing to cooperate with investigation into the 2010 ballot, a suspension which was lifted after he relented.

The 69-year-old was asked during a news conference whether he was offered any bribes to vote for the respective countries, to which he responded: "That's a clear no.

"Nobody offered me anything in order to influence my vote.

"This did not happen."

The man known as "Der Kaiser" admitted his surprise that Qatar was awarded the 2022 edition and believes the tournament ought to be played during the winter, despite the fact that systems have been developed to cool down the stadiums in order to create more comfortable temperatures in the summer.

"Technically speaking, it's possible [to play the tournament during the summer] but is it really necessary to make such an effort and waste such a lot of energy if you could just play it in the winter?" he said. 

"Then, you don't need to cool the stadiums down and you have perfect training conditions.

"My suggestion would be to hold the World Cup during the winter."

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