Ireland captain Robbie Keane has given his backing to Jerome Champagne ahead of the FIFA Presidential Election next year.

Keane is quoted as saying that Champagne "understands football" according to the Press Association's Martyn Ziegler who has seen the published endorsement. 

Champagne is one of five names currently on the ballot paper for the February election. The Frenchman will be joined by Gianni Infantino, Tokyo Sexwale, Salman Bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa and Prince Ali bin Hussein. UEFA President Michel Platini is provisionally on the ballot paper pending the results of an investigation into ethics violations.

Jerome Champagne has published endorsement by Robbie Keane for his FIFA presidential campaign. Keane says: "He understands football."

— Martyn Ziegler (@martynziegler) November 18, 2015

And Pele - clearly Robbie Keane much more important

— Martyn Ziegler (@martynziegler) November 18, 2015