BY TIM PARSONS
Fifa has confirmed the schedulling of the election for its next president at a special congress on 26 February.
The election is to choose a fitting replacement for Sepp Blatter,who was recently suspended alongside former vice president, Michale Platini pending allegations of corruptions.
Platini is known to hold aspirations for the role of presidency but support for him was recently dropped in light of the allegations which he vehemently denies. However, suspicion of his guilt remains high. His application for candidacy has been rejected becauseof his ban, though Fifa’s electoral committee says it may allow him to stand if his suspension ends before the election date. It will be a bad reflection on Fifa if for any reason he gets the post even in the event his ban is squashed, because Fifa name and integrity has already been smeared in the corruprion scandal that rocked the governing body.
Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa of Bahrain is believed to be one of the front runners for the post, given his interest in contesting the election. Former Trinidad and Tobago midfielder David Nakhid- who runs a football Academy in Lebanon- has also said he will stand, with former Tottenham defender Ramon Vega also considering standing for the election. In a damning attack on the candidacy of AlKhalifa, Nakhid told Reuters on Sunday that whilst he doesn’t represent big money from the Gulf, nor has the luxury of royalty, he represents ”someone who can take the claim for a better balance in the global game” . ”You look at Prince Ali, someone who has been hea dof his own association since he was 23, for16 years. Now he wants to come and talk about reform? He has been there for 16 years by decree. What can he tell us about reform? Has he had no challenger in those 16 years, or he has been there as a Prince?Come on!” He stressed his view that Prince Ali would not be good for the game, adding that he lacked the Charisma to lead.
Nakhid, 51, played for Trinidad and Tobago for 13 years , between 1992 and 2003,and the Caribbean nation from where he hails is closely linked with former FIFA vice president and regional leader, Jack Warner- now banned for life for his alleged role in the corruption scandal that rocked FIFA. Nakhid, however, distances himself from Warner by pointing out that he has been a longtime opponent of Warner
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Nakhid added that FIFA executive committee member Sheikh Salman, who is closely allied with Kuwaiti Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, one of the most powerful men in international sports politics, is part of the FIFA establishment. “He has been part of that circle no matter what is said. He has been around in Asia and if you know a bit about Asian football and the acrimonious battles that were waged and then you know it is going to be hard to split these guys from anything that has gone on,” he said. “I think they need to be scrutinised as everyone should be, then hopefully we can come up with someone who is good for football.”
Nakhid, who wants a public debate between all candidates, says he has won support in the Caribbean and from other confederations but said his supporters had asked him not make their support public at this stage.
“This is one of the things we want to address. You can see a legacy of recriminations has been left. These federations feel that for them to step out of the box, they are going to be recriminated against but in due time hopefully we can change those things as well,” he said.
