Ex-footballer Sol Campbell bids to become London mayor

Former England footballer Sol Campbell announced Monday that he will bid to become the Conservative candidate to replace Boris Johnson as mayor of London in 2016.

“I’m in it to win it,” the former Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur defender told the Sun newspaper.

The London-born 40-year-old confirmed he will attend a question and answer debate on July 4 with other contenders for the Conservative nomination.

“I know I’m not going to be a frontrunner,” he told the tabloid.

“But I look at people who have been in politics for five, ten, 15 years, see them muck up and think, ‘You guys are supposed to be pro’!

“I bring something new to the table. I come from a working class background, it wasn’t easy for me at all, but I worked hard. And now it’s about giving something back.”

Campbell campaigned alongside Tory candidates in the run-up to this year’s general election, in which Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron won re-election.

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