EIGHT MAN HAVE thrown their hats into the ring in an effort to succeed Sepp Blatter as Fifa president.
So, what do we know about them?
Some, like the embattled Michel Platini and Gianni Infantino, are relatively well-known but others carry a significantly lower profile in the world of sports politics.
Tokyo Sexwale
The 62-year-old South African spent thirteen years imprisoned on Robben Island and became a close friend of Nelson Mandela.
Dan Balilty
Dan Balilty
He has Fifa experience from his time with the anti-discrimination task force while he was also involved in the organising committee for the 2010 World Cup.
Sexwale has made his fortune from the mining industry and is a famous face in his native country, where he’s also the presenter of the South African version of ‘The Apprentice’.
Gianni Infantino
Uefa’s general secretary has been a long-time ally of Michel Platini, essentially serving as his right-hand man soon after the Frenchman’s election to Europe’s governing body.
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Lionel Cironneau
Lionel Cironneau
The 45-year-old is a lawyer by trade and initially joined Uefa in that role back in 2000 before getting his chance in more high-profile positions.
Ultimately, should Platini still end up running in the election (right now, it’s unclear if he will or not), Infantino may decide to row in behind his friend. But from Uefa’s perspective, the Swiss native is a solid choice for now and the governing body are supporting him.
Musa Bility
The current head of the Liberian FA, the 48-year-old doesn’t even have the backing of the African confederation though that hasn’t stopped him from submitting an application.
The lack of support from the CAF will hurt him but he’s had a difficult relationship with the African power-brokers for a while, having been banned from all football-related activities for a period of six months in 2013.
He’s a businessman, making his money from importing petroleum into Liberia.
Prince Ali bin Hussein
President of the Jordan Football Association, the 39-year-old has been here before. He challenged Blatter for the Fifa presidency back in May, as the entire organisation was in the midst of chaos, but lost.
Raad Adayleh
Raad Adayleh
So, he has experience of what a presidential campaign is like. But his youth may count against him, as could his lack of long-time allies within the walls of the organisation. He preaches transparency and reform but has been in his current role since his early twenties.
David Nakhid
The 51-year-old is an interesting candidate. He’s played the game to the highest level in various countries and captained Trinidad and Tobago too.
Bilal Hussein
Bilal Hussein
But T&T have a chequered past within Fifa and general football politics, namely because of Jack Warner – who has been banned from football for life after a series of corruption scandals. He’s also the centre of the well-documented FBI investigation and faces extradition to the United States.
So, Nakhid has to battle the sullied reputation of where he’s from and that’s not easy. He’s an outsider in Fifa and that’s not good either.
Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa
Hasan Jamali
Hasan Jamali
The president of the Asian Football Confederation (a fan of hunting wild boar, by all accounts) seemed the favourite for quite a while. A friend of Sepp Blatter’s, the royal from Bahrain has not been part of the Fifa inner-circle for long. Many see that as a major positive.
But in recent days, the 49-year-old’s campaign has hit a probably insurmountable obstacle – the alleged abuse of Bahraini athletes involved in pro-democracy demonstrations in 2011.
Sheikh Salman has referred to the accusations as ‘false, nasty lies’ but if it sticks, he’ll find it difficult to stay afloat in the presidential race.
Jerome Champagne
Blatter’s former advisor left Fifa in 2010 and ever since has assisted on many different international football projects.
He attempted to run for the presidency earlier this year but fell short of getting the requisite support. This time, he claims that eight associations are backing him (you need five) so he seems to be in better shape, perhaps building on some impressions he may have made previously.
The Frenchman is a clever and astute figure – a former French diplomat – but Fifa is a different beast where long-term friendships are more useful than big plans.
Michel Platini
The great unknown. Should Platini’s current suspension end before the presidential election next February, it certainly makes things more interesting. If not, Fifa won’t allow him to run.
Even if he is able to involve himself in the election, it’s clear his reputation is stained and his career within Fifa is probably unsalvageable.
A wild boar hunter & a host of 'The Apprentice': meet the Fifa presidential candidates
EIGHT MAN HAVE thrown their hats into the ring in an effort to succeed Sepp Blatter as Fifa president.
So, what do we know about them?
Some, like the embattled Michel Platini and Gianni Infantino, are relatively well-known but others carry a significantly lower profile in the world of sports politics.
Tokyo Sexwale
The 62-year-old South African spent thirteen years imprisoned on Robben Island and became a close friend of Nelson Mandela.
He has Fifa experience from his time with the anti-discrimination task force while he was also involved in the organising committee for the 2010 World Cup.
Sexwale has made his fortune from the mining industry and is a famous face in his native country, where he’s also the presenter of the South African version of ‘The Apprentice’.
Gianni Infantino
Uefa’s general secretary has been a long-time ally of Michel Platini, essentially serving as his right-hand man soon after the Frenchman’s election to Europe’s governing body.
The 45-year-old is a lawyer by trade and initially joined Uefa in that role back in 2000 before getting his chance in more high-profile positions.
Ultimately, should Platini still end up running in the election (right now, it’s unclear if he will or not), Infantino may decide to row in behind his friend. But from Uefa’s perspective, the Swiss native is a solid choice for now and the governing body are supporting him.
Musa Bility
The current head of the Liberian FA, the 48-year-old doesn’t even have the backing of the African confederation though that hasn’t stopped him from submitting an application.
The lack of support from the CAF will hurt him but he’s had a difficult relationship with the African power-brokers for a while, having been banned from all football-related activities for a period of six months in 2013.
He’s a businessman, making his money from importing petroleum into Liberia.
Prince Ali bin Hussein
President of the Jordan Football Association, the 39-year-old has been here before. He challenged Blatter for the Fifa presidency back in May, as the entire organisation was in the midst of chaos, but lost.
So, he has experience of what a presidential campaign is like. But his youth may count against him, as could his lack of long-time allies within the walls of the organisation. He preaches transparency and reform but has been in his current role since his early twenties.
David Nakhid
The 51-year-old is an interesting candidate. He’s played the game to the highest level in various countries and captained Trinidad and Tobago too.
But T&T have a chequered past within Fifa and general football politics, namely because of Jack Warner – who has been banned from football for life after a series of corruption scandals. He’s also the centre of the well-documented FBI investigation and faces extradition to the United States.
So, Nakhid has to battle the sullied reputation of where he’s from and that’s not easy. He’s an outsider in Fifa and that’s not good either.
Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa
The president of the Asian Football Confederation (a fan of hunting wild boar, by all accounts) seemed the favourite for quite a while. A friend of Sepp Blatter’s, the royal from Bahrain has not been part of the Fifa inner-circle for long. Many see that as a major positive.
But in recent days, the 49-year-old’s campaign has hit a probably insurmountable obstacle – the alleged abuse of Bahraini athletes involved in pro-democracy demonstrations in 2011.
Sheikh Salman has referred to the accusations as ‘false, nasty lies’ but if it sticks, he’ll find it difficult to stay afloat in the presidential race.
Jerome Champagne
Blatter’s former advisor left Fifa in 2010 and ever since has assisted on many different international football projects.
He attempted to run for the presidency earlier this year but fell short of getting the requisite support. This time, he claims that eight associations are backing him (you need five) so he seems to be in better shape, perhaps building on some impressions he may have made previously.
The Frenchman is a clever and astute figure – a former French diplomat – but Fifa is a different beast where long-term friendships are more useful than big plans.
Michel Platini
The great unknown. Should Platini’s current suspension end before the presidential election next February, it certainly makes things more interesting. If not, Fifa won’t allow him to run.
Even if he is able to involve himself in the election, it’s clear his reputation is stained and his career within Fifa is probably unsalvageable.
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FIFA Presidential Election Gianni Infantino Jerome Champagne Michel Platini Sepp Blatter the amazing race tokyo sexwale