UEFA president Michel Platini opened tickets sales Wednesday for the 2016 European Championship exactly a year before the start of the tournament in France, amid speculation about his candidacy for the FIFA presidency.
"Many of you probably have questions about the (FIFA) events and about my future," Platini told journalists. "Everything will come in its time, but now is neither the time nor the place."
Responding to questions about whether he would pursue the position left open since former FIFA president Joseph Blatter announced he would step down amid a corruption scandal, Platini declined to give a specific answer and said he would not make a "political decision."
Platini and French Euro 2016 president Jacques Lambert opened ticket sales for the championship, with approximately half the available tickets available for purchase online. Lambert said he expects the games to generate more than a billion euros for the French economy.
Separately, Lambert also announced that the tournament's official musician would be David Guetta.
Zurich-based FIFA has been rocked by corruption allegations, with separate probes in the US and Switzerland and the arrest of seven football officials just ahead of the May 29 FIFA congress. Blatter was re-elected for a fifth term as president there, but announced his resignation four days later.
Platini, 59, is a former French football player and coached France's national team for four years. He also helped organize the 1998 World Cup in France and has presided over European football organizing body UEFA since 2007.
