FIFA names Blatter’s possible successors

The race to succeed the embattled FIFA president Sepp Blatter reached a climax stage on Monday. Candidates had until midnight Monday to submit the relevant paperwork – together with letters of support from five football associations.

The World football body FIFA on Wednesday named the seven confirmed candidates vying for the FIFA presidency coming up at Feb. 26 election.

The February 26^th 2016 election is to find a suitable successor to the suspended Sepp Blatter, who is under criminal investigation.

The Swiss 79-year-old announced he would be stepping down in June, with world football’s governing body at the centre of a corruption scandal.

In a statement in Zurich, FIFA said the candidates were:

Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein

Musa Hassan Bility

Jerome Champagne

Gianni Infantino

Michel Platini

Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa

Tokyo Sexwale

Surprise on the list is embattled UEFA chief Michel Platini who was recently suspended for 90 days along with Sepp Blatter.

But FIFA said that Platini’s bid would not be processed while he is banned, but he could still stand if he wins an appeal.

“Should such a ban be lifted or expire before the FIFA presidential election, the Ad-hoc Electoral Committee would decide, depending on the respective exact point in time, on how to proceed with the candidature concerned, ”FIFA said in a statement.

One big name missing on the list is David Nakhid, who was forced out on Wednesday when his registration was ruled invalid.

South Korean Chung Mong-Joon, pulled out on Monday because he had been banned from soccer for six years.

The U.S. Department of Justice had indicted 14 soccer officials and sports marketing executives on a series of corruption charges, and Swiss authorities are investigating the decision to award the 2018 and 2022 World Cup tournaments to Russia and Qatar respectively.

Since 2010, FIFA’s Ethics Committee has banned more than a dozen current and former members of the executive committee, either while in office or after they had left.

The exclusion of Nakhid was a surprise, though. A former Trinidad and Tobago international player, he took part on Monday in a sports conference in Denmark, along with Champagne, as a candidate. He spent Tuesday afternoon giving interviews and laying out his plans.

Brief profile of the candidates:

Prince Ali bin al-Hussein, 39, is president of the Jordan Football Association.

Musa Bility, 48, is president of the Liberian Football Association.

Jerome Champagne, 57, is a former FIFA executive. A former French diplomat who held various posts at FIFA between 1999 and 2010 but is a critic of UEFA.

Gianni Infantino, 45, is UEFA’s general secretary.

Michel Platini, 60, UEFA president and FIFA vice-president.

Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa, 49, Asian Football Confederation president.

Tokyo Sexwale, 62, is a South African South African businessman and former government minister.

Platini, the head of European football’s governing body, is also suspended, but FIFA’s electoral committee says it may allow him to stand if his ban ends before the election date.

FIFA and Swiss prosecutors are investigating reports that a £1.35m payment was made in 2011 for work Platini did as Blatter’s adviser.

Both men deny any wrongdoing and are appealing against their 90-day bans.

All candidates had to obtain the written backing of five football associations under FIFA electoral rules.

Platini was the favorite until Swiss federal police questioned him and Blatter on September 25th over a suspected ‘disloyal payment’ from FIFA in 2011.

The UEFA president got about $2 million approved by Blatter as un-contracted salary for work he did as a presidential adviser at least nine years earlier.

But FIFA’s electoral rules state that candidates must present letters of support from five football associations, and that each cannot back more than one candidate.

The seven other candidates must now face integrity checks under FIFA’s code of ethics.

 

Anthony Nlebem