FIFA presidential candidate Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa is "going for simplicity and fan-appeal with headline pledges to transform a discredited FIFA:" relinquish "much of the power" Sepp Blatter built up over 17 years at FIFA and "take no salary," according to Rob Harris of the AP. Sheikh Salman was a "late, seemingly reluctant candidate to lead FIFA's recovery from a corruption crisis" that is likely to see "fresh revelations of wrongdoing emerging long after election day in February." Sheikh Salman: "I don't want too much power with the president -- the power has to be shared. I believe in doing things in a different way, not being centralized where the president has to do every detail in running the business." That means "taking no money for being the face of FIFA." He said, "I don't want to be an executive president. And if I'm not an executive president I don't see how I do deserve to be paid" (AP, 11/16). The PA reported All-Nepal FA President Ganesh Thapa, one of the "most influential figures in Asian football over the last two decades," has been banned for 10 years for bribery by FIFA's ethics committee. Thapa, a former Asian Football Confederation VP, is "also under investigation by Nepalese authorities after being accused of embezzling millions of pounds of football development money." Thapa was found by FIFA's ethics committee to have "committed various acts of misconduct over several years, including the solicitation and acceptance of cash payments from another football official, for both personal and family gain" (PA, 11/16). REUTERS' Brian Homewood reported former Trinidad and Tobago int'l David Nakhid has "appealed to global sport's highest tribunal" over a decision to "bar him from the race" for the presidency of FIFA. Under FIFA's electoral rules, Nakhid "needed written backing" from five national FAs to be eligible for the Feb. 26 election to replace Blatter. He was barred from registering by FIFA's electoral committee last month because one association "had signed letters of support for both Nakhid and a rival candidate" (REUTERS, 11/16).
