Coe no to football after the Olympics

London 2012 Chief and former Olympic champion Sebastian Coe has said he will focus uniquely on athletics following next summer's games, quashing hopes he may develop his career in football politics instead.

"My focus post-2012 will be track and field, absolutely," Coe told Reuters. "There's no question about that," adding that his desire was to become head of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).

Coe, winner of four Olympic medals and a former world-record holder at 1500m, first got involved in soccer politics in 2006, when Sepp Blatter appointed him as chairman of FIFA's first Ethics Committee, before he stood down in order to help England's bid for the 2018 World Cup.

Although it could be argued both ventures ended in failure, Coe's reputation in the corridors of the sporting world is still immense.

As revealed exclusively by Soccerphile in 2008, Coe was headhunted to mount a challenge to take over at the Football Association in the wake of England's failure to qualify for Euro 2008, but declined because of his commitments to the 2012 Olympic Games.

Many would have welcomed Coe's leadership qualities and global influence as a way to restore England as a major player on and off the field of international football. English soccer's loss is international athletics' gain for the foreseeable future, but the FA will not lose his number any time soon.

Coe remains a Chelsea F.C. season-ticket holder.

(c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile

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