Platini to decide in 2014 on FIFA presidential run

DUBROVNIK, Croatia (AP) UEFA President Michel Platini will wait until next year before deciding whether to run for the FIFA presidency.

"I will take my decision during or after the World Cup in Brazil and not before," Platini told European football leaders on Tuesday. "I have not yet decided what I will do in the future and I want to have a few additional months to think.

The FIFA election is in May 2015, and President Sepp Blatter could yet seek a fifth term in office.

Blatter told UEFA members in 2011 that he would not stay in office beyond 2015, when he would be 79, but has since suggested he could stand again.

Platini, once a Blatter protege and long seen as the natural heir at FIFA, said it would be "egotistical" to make his potential candidacy a priority in world football.

The France great addressed UEFA's 54 member federations and its executive committee to begin a four-day gathering in Dubrovnik, Croatia.

They will consider Europe's position on an expected FIFA decision next month that the 2022 World Cup in Qatar should move from summer to winter, threatening radical changes to the traditional football season.

Platini, who was elected to lead UEFA in 2007, faces his own re-election likely in March 2015.

"These elections are in two years' time and I think it would be egotistical to make it a topic for debate or discussion now when football faces much more important problems or issues than me or my situation," he said in a speech.

"I deeply love UEFA and it would be heartbreaking to choose another path. But at the same time, the question continuously pops up and it's a legitimate one. This is the reason why it's important for me to take my time, to make sure I take the right decision."