FIFA five hunt for votes as campaign enters final month

The five candidates to take over the FIFA presidency from the banned Sepp Blatter stepped up the frantic hunt for votes Tuesday as the campaign entered the final month.

FIFA sent a formal notice to the 209 member associations on Tuesday confirming that Prince Ali bin al Hussein, Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al Khalifa, Gianni Infantino, Tokyo Sexwale and Jerome Champagne would take part in the February 26 vote in Zurich.

"The Ad-hoc Electoral Committee has formally admitted and declared the candidates eligible for the election of the office of FIFA president at the extraordinary FIFA Congress," said the letter.

The world body has faced major pressure since US and Swiss authorities launched major investigations into FIFA and Blatter, 79, was banned for eight years for misconduct.

While Sheikh Salman, head of the Asian Football Confederation, and Infantino, the UEFA general secretary, are seen as the frontrunners, all five are lobbying hard for votes in a races in which many observers say a surprise is still possible.

All have concentrated on the need to clean up football, while making rival proposals to increase the World Cup and give more of FIFA's riches to national associations. 

Sheikh Salman, who should get a majority of the AFC's 46 votes as well as many of Africa's 54, said Monday that he could invite Infantino, or English Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore to be FIFA secretary general if he wins.

"So far there's no agreement and no deal but let's see what happens in the next few days," Sheikh Salman told Sky Sport television of his contacts with Infantino.

The Bahraini official has been under pressure however over accusations of involvement in a crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in the Gulf state.

The sheikh said he could guarantee "one million percent" that no footballer or athlete had been abused.