Two Arab royals are "set to face off for control" of FIFA with the "main battleground likely to be Europe," according to Simon Evans of REUTERS. The election to replace Sepp Blatter at the helm of FIFA "took a fresh twist on Friday" as Asian Football Confederation President Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa of Bahrain entered the contest. A Middle Eastern source said, "Sheikh Salman is intending to run." British bookmaker William Hill instantly made Salman a 5-2 second favorite behind Jordanian Prince Ali bin al-Hussein in the race for "one of the most powerful" jobs in world sport. All FIFA's previous elected leaders "have come from Europe and South America." Sheikh Salman is "closely allied" with Kuwaiti Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, "one of the most powerful men" in int'l sports politics and a key figure in the Olympic movement. Ahmad's backing will be valuable for the Feb. 26 vote, "but Salman faces a fight, even within his own region." A source close to Prince Ali's camp said that he has "spent the past few weeks quietly building up support." Ali has been given indications of backing from some of the smaller federations within UEFA, the source said, and "found some support within Africa and inside CONMEBOL." Each of FIFA's 209 national associations has one vote in the election. A month ago, Europe was "united behind Platini, but now the region's 53 votes are up for grabs with both Arab candidates chasing support" (REUTERS, 10/16).
NAKHID ATTACKS FRONTRUNNERS: Evans reported in a separate piece former Trinidad and Tobago midfielder David Nakhid "launched his campaign" to be president of FIFA on Sunday with "an attack on the two Arab royals who are the frontrunners" to replace Blatter. Nakhid said that he had "successfully secured the five nominations from national associations needed to become a candidate" and had submitted his paperwork to FIFA's election committee. Nakhid: "We don't represent big money from the Gulf nor do we represent the luxury of royalty. What we do represent is someone who can stake the claim for a better balance in the global game. You look at Prince Ali, someone who has been head of his own association since he was 23, 16 years. Now he wants to come and talk about reform? He has been there 16 years by decree. What can he tell us about reform? Has he had a challenger in those 16 years or has been there as a Prince? Come on" (REUTERS, 10/18).
