FIFA today "confirmed the final five candidates for the presidency" a month ahead of the vote -- Prince Ali bin al Hussein, Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al Khalifa, Gianni Infantino, Tokyo Sexwale and Jerome Champagne, according to the AFP. The vote on who will replace Sepp Blatter is scheduled to be held in Zurich on Feb. 26. Salman yesterday said that he could invite Infantino or EPL CEO Richard Scudamore "to be FIFA secretary general if he wins" (AFP, 1/26). In N.Y., Sam Borden examines the race with exactly one month remaining before the vote, and the “scale of the candidates’ campaigns and the breakdown of the voting countries … point toward” either Infantino or Salman winning. The voting “will be less predictable than in past elections,” as support “within each confederation is more scattered.” There is speculation that before the election, Infantino and Salman will “agree on a deal in which the one with more obvious support would remain on the ballot and the one trailing would step aside, perhaps to fill the vacant No. 2 role of FIFA general secretary.” This “now seems less likely, if only because those close to Mr. Infantino believe he is capable of beating Sheikh Salman outright.” Meanwhile, there is no indication the ‘22 FIFA World Cup “will be held anywhere” but Qatar (N.Y. TIMES, 1/26).
