FIFA presidential election is two-horse race

The withdrawal of Luis Figo and Michael van Praag from FIFA’s presidential election race, leaves Jordan’s Prince Ali Bin al-Hussein as the only challenger to incumbent and runaway favourite Sepp Blatter
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Sepp Blatter, 79, Switzerland

FIFA President since 1998, standing for fifth term

FIFA has suffered wave of scandals during Blatter’s 17-year reign, including allegations of corruption in 2018/22 World Cup bidding process

He has not issued formal election manifesto but pledges to continue reform programme and steer FIFA into “clear blue waters” again

Blatter is widely supported outside Europe, where associations have benefited financially

Prince Ali, 39, Jordan

FIFA Asian vice-president

Pledges to make FIFA more transparent by appointing advisory board alongside president, who would be limited to two terms

Wants to increase number of teams participating in World Cup finals to 36 from 32, and distribute more money to poorer federations

Proposes to restore continental rotation when choosing World Cup hosts and require bidders to respect human rights

Prince Ali is UEFA’s favoured candidate
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WHO VOTES: Each of FIFA’s 209 member associations holds one vote

PROCESS: Candidate addresses Congress for 15 minutes before ballot

First round: Candidate needs to secure two-thirds majority (140 votes) to win election

Second round: If subsequent round is required then simple majority (more than 50%) is all that is required for victory

Europe UEFA 53

Africa CAF 54

Asia AFC 46

North and Central America CONCACAF 35

Oceania. OFC 11

South America CONMEBOL1
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Source: FIFA

Pictures: Associated Press, Getty Images

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