As at yesterday night only two African cadidates namely Musa Bility (president of the Liberian federation) and Tokyo Sexwale (South African businessman), showed interest.
At the CAF meeting held in Cairo and monitored in Lagos, the soccer ruling body was not definite on which of the two candidates to back as the decision was deadlocked. It was also not clear if the candidacy of former Nigeria international Segun Odegbami was accepted at the meeting.
other contenders includes Prince Ali bin Al Hussein of Jordan (former FIFA vice-president); Jerome Champagne (French ex-FIFA official; Gianni Infantino (Swiss general secretary of UEFA); David Nakhid (one time Trinidad international) and Michel Platini (suspended president of European federation UEFA).
Also shrouded in uncertainty was the expected candidacy from Asian confederation leader Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa (Bahrain) with suggestions that he might have been advised to step back after last-minute negotiations.
He was said to have flown to Cairo to have discussions with Issa Hayatou, the Cameroonian president of the African confederation who took over as interim leader of FIFA earlier this month after Blatter’s suspension over allegations of financial misconduct.
Of the 7-man list released by FIFA yesterday, UEFA presented a ‘holding’ application from its general secretary, Gianni Infantino owing to the case before its president Michel Platini who is being investigated by FIFA.
Qualification demands include a minimum of five written endorsements from national football federations plus a declaration of a role in the game in two of the past five years.
All contenders will have their submissions put through an integrity check by the ethics committee before being confirmed, formally, as candidates to stand to succeed Sepp Blatter at the extraordinary congress next February 26.
The executive committee held a conference call which agreed to ‘run’ Infantino so it would have a negotiating presence in the race – to protect Europe’s exco delegates and World Cup slots – in case Platini is not cleared by the ethics committee in time for the election congress.
Infantino’s involvement would raise other issues since, whoever takes over from Blatter, might well consider him a possible candidate for the role of secretary-general.
Current secretary-general Jerome Valcke is under suspension over misconduct allegations of his own and, in any case, had indicated that he expected to be leaving FIFA after the election.
Chung Mong-joon, the South Korean billionaire, had formally withdrawn from the race after being banned from the game for six years over allegations connected to an investigation into the 2018-2022 World Cup bid process.
Interest in standing has also been expressed by former players Zico (Brazil), Ramon Vega (Switzerland) and David Ginola (France) but all appear to have failed to come up with the essential nominations.
Zico, on seeking the support of his own Brazilian confederation, was told it would back him only if he could first find four other countries willing to nominate him.
-The Sun
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