German football president to run for FIFA post

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The German Football Federation says its president will run for a seat on FIFA's policy-making executive committee.

Wolfgang Niersbach will run to replace Theo Zwanziger, the German who is leaving the post. Niersbach first has to be elected by UEFA, the European governing body, in March, before taking over Zwanziger's seat in May.

Niersbach says he is running because "German football must not lose its voice in the most important decision-making bodies."

Niersbach and other German football officials recently have been critical of FIFA president Sepp Blatter and FIFA's reaction to the corruption probe into the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, awarded to Russia and Qatar.

Germany's football federation is the biggest in the world with more than six million members.