Klavan says that some clubs do not want to state publicly their support for his candidacy.

Klavan and Pohlak, the latter who has been in the post for 18 years, are the only candidates running for the next EJL president.

Pohlak was also recently elected to the prestigious UEFA Executive Committee, governing the sport across Europe.

On whether he expects to win the EJL election, to be held June 19, Klavan said: "The win will come. Since we began this journey on December 10, our team has taken major steps forward."

Klavan added: "I just had a gut feeling that people were waiting for change. But there wasn't yet the 40+ member 'yes' or even enough votes to file a candidacy. Just a sense – that change is needed and expected in Estonian football."

Raadio 2 show "R2 Päev" investigated how much support the former Liverpool player actually has, given he said he had 40 or more clubs, but only listed 18 in the official press release.

On this Klavan, who played for Liverpool from 2016–2018 before joining Serie A's Cagliari Calcio, said: "When I gathered the necessary votes to run, I didn't focus further on collecting just enough support, but instead started meeting with members, and those 40+ members or people are the ones who said after our meetings that they will vote for me. That's how the figure of 40+ votes came about."

Klavan noted that the very fact clubs did not want to publicly state that they backed him says all you need to know about the state of the EJL at present.

"Those are probably the 20 or so who said they don't want to do it publicly, which for me raises questions about the current leadership style – they don't want to attach their name to it and risk facing the current president's disapproval," Klavan continued.

At the same time, the number of supporters may grow, he claimed.

"There is definitely still some uncertainty. There are 106 members who will ultimately vote for the president of the football association, and those 40+ are the ones who've specifically said 'yes, Ragnar, we believe in you and will vote for you.' There are still many who are undecided," Klavan said.

"There are some I haven't met with yet. There's still time until June 19. But we're working every day and doing everything we can to make sure the right person becomes president of the football association on June 19."

As for the big appointment Pohlak recently obtained, Klavan said: "First, I congratulate Aivar on his new position, and second, it is definitely a positive thing for Estonian football to get someone into UEFA.

However, he qualified that by saying: "But let's put it this way – one of the requirements to run for that seat is that you must be president of a national football association. So for almost 20 years, no other Estonian even had the chance to be considered," he noted. "So it's a double-edged thing. As I said, it's positive for Estonian football, but no one else has been able to apply," Klavan added.

Klavan said clubs mainly expect him to bring fresh leadership, listen to their input, and involve them more in shaping Estonian football.

Many have presented their own visions, frustrated by being overlooked, given Estonia remains ranked 121st in the FIFA rankings — only slightly higher than the 118th it attained in 1993 shortly after independence and well down on its peak of 57th.

Klavan also said the key to raising the level of Estonian football lies in heavily investing in coaching, analogous to the way Estonia improved its education system by valuing teachers, which resulted in Europe-topping PISA rankings.
Without properly equipping coaches and embracing a smart use of technology to offset limited resources, it will be difficult to develop new talent or compete internationally, Klavan added.

A center-back, Klavan, 39, played for Elva, Tulevik and Flora before playing outside Estonia, first for Heracles Almelo and AZ Alkmaar in the Netherlands, then FC Augsburg in Germany. After his spells at Liverpool and Cagliari, he came back to play his last couple of seasons in Estonia, with Paide Linnameeskond and finally JK Tallinna Kalev.

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