FIFA’s presidential election takes place Friday in Zurich, where the world football governing body will look to move on from a period tarnished by corruption and controversy.
Related – FIFA presidential election: The questions you need answered
Two-hundred-and-seven member states will vote individually for the five candidates at the Hallenstadion as one of 12 matters to be settled during the latest FIFA Congress.
The election requires a candidate to receive two-thirds (or 138 votes), and failure to garner that amount will result in a likely simple majority in the second round.
Gianni Infantino
Who is he? A front-runner for the position alongside Sheikh Salman, Gianni Infantino, the current general secretary of UEFA, has been involved with Europe’s governing body since leaving the International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES) at the University of Neuchatel.
What are his chances? The Swiss-Italian general secretary has the backing of most of UEFA’s 54 members after the governing body’s executive committee vowed to support him in October. Couple that with CONMEBOL’s 10 members and their public pledge of support for the 45-year-old, and Infantino appears to be the favourite to succeed the embattled Sepp Blatter.
His promise to increase individual cash payouts for all 209 member states can’t hurt his candidacy, either.
The main obstacle Infantino will have to overcome is Salman, and the support the Bahraini AFC head has from the African and Asian federations. Parallels between Infantino and Blatter’s career arcs may also alarm voters still feeling the sting from the Swiss exec’s deplorable 17-year reign.
Honoured to have the backing of @CONMEBOL. Thank you for your support! https://t.co/6k00dF7rUd
— Gianni Infantino (@Gianni_2016) January 28, 2016
Skeletons in the closet? Supporters of sides slighted during the 2013 Champions League draw may recall claims from conspiracy theorists that Infantino rigged the selections with vibrating balls. Moving on.
Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa
Who is he? Sheikh Salman is the Bahrain-born head of the Asian Football Confederation, and one of FIFA’s eight vice-presidents. Salman, 50, is also on FIFA’s finance committee, and was the former deputy chairman of the governing body’s disciplinary committee.
What are his chances? Besides having the experience of working for FIFA to his benefit, Salman’s support from the world’s largest continental confederation, Africa (56 members), paired with a pledge from the Asian federation (47), could be enough to elect him the ninth president. That’s not to say that each member of each confederation will vote for the Bahraini royal, but it’s a good indication that he’s Infantino’s biggest threat.
Salman was in charge of a task force that moved the 2022 Qatar World Cup from summer to winter, to the dismay of many European voters who now have to alter the schedules of their domestic leagues. This won’t help Salman’s case.
Skeletons in the closet? Fans of human rights violations will be all in for Salman. Human rights organizations have claimed that he and his family were responsible for the imprisonment and torture of pro-democracy protesters – some of them soccer players – during a violent repression of anti-government protests in 2011. Salman denies the accusations.
Related: Human rights group asks FIFA to bar Sheikh Salman from presidential election
Prince Ali bin al-Hussein
Who is he? The third son of King Hussein and current president of Jordan’s football federation, Prince Ali lost to Blatter in the 2015 election by a relatively small margin after receiving 73 votes in the first round.
What are his chances? Not great. Ali’s 2015 campaign was built on widespread organizational reforms that centered around the public disclosure of salaries and term limits for senior executives. Not surprisingly, those projected amendments were not popular among members, making the 73 votes he got that much more surprising.
To Prince Ali’s credit, his protracted list of reforms are consistent with the anti-corruption direction FIFA so desperately requires on the heels of Blatter’s harrowing tenure.
Despite his slim chances of progressing beyond the first round of voting, his dislike of Salman could see voters loyal to the Jordanian opt instead for Infantino should a second round be required.
Skeletons in the closet? On the contrary, Prince Ali appears to be the most ethically motivated of the five candidates, even calling for the publication of the Garcia Report to make the circumstances surrounding the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups public knowledge. His Twitter account is a testament to his love for football.
Jerome Champagne
Who is he? Jerome Champagne is a former French diplomat and ex-FIFA executive who was close to throwing his hat in the ring for the 2015 election.
What are his chances? Slim to none for this bubbly personality despite 11 years working alongside Blatter, where the former adviser to the Palestine Olympic Committee forged several relationships with FIFA member states in the Middle East and Africa.
Skeletons in the closet? No skeletons per se, but a campaign built around his tenure alongside Blatter hasn’t helped his case.
Tokyo Sexwale
Who is he? South African business man, prison mate of Nelson Mandela, and chief of FIFA’s anti-racism committee. Tokyo Sexwale should also be commended for his efforts to broker peace between Israeli and Palestinian football federations.
What are his chances? Unfortunately for the election’s best-named candidate, Sexwale’s chances are tied to support from Africa’s 54 members, whose executive committee has already vowed to back Salman.
Sexwale’s work with federations from Israel and Palestine, paired with efforts to increase the profile of women’s football in developing nations, is a point of pride for the 62-year-old businessman.
The anti-apartheid activist might not have much of a chance Friday, but his genuine concerns about the sport in third-world nations should not be taken lightly.
“Football is not about the green pitch,” Sexwale said. “It’s actually about the brown pitch.”
Skeletons in the closet? Questions surround Sexwale’s stint as a member of the bidding team and the organizing committee for the 2010 World Cup in his homeland. A $10-million transfer to the account controlled by now disgraced CONCACAF exec Jack Warner has been characterized by Sexwale as “worrisome.”
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