Election likely to head into extra time as Fifa looks for Blatter successor

The race to be the next leader of world football is heading into its final stages on Friday. The vote to decide who will succeed scandal-stained Sepp Blatter as president of Fifa was looking too close to call as delegates gathered in Zurich. The two front-runners, Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al-Khalifa and Gianni Infantino, were both were confident of receiving at least 100 votes in the first round today, with suggestions that the Bahraini Sheikh might just fall short of the number required to win an outright majority. In the first significant move of the day, Fifa members agreed sweeping changes that will curb the powers of whoever takes over from Mr Blatter.

Honestly, I feel UEFA has presented a good candidate in Infantino, who I know. I do not know the other candidates, nor do I know any programme of anybody because that has been very vague.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger

There are 207 votes up for grabs and three other candidates in the race including Prince Ali of Jordan, who gained more than 70 votes when defeated by Sepp Blatter last May. With a two-thirds majority required to win in the first round, neither Sheikh Salman nor Mr Infantino expects outright victory in the opening ballot, but whoever leads may have control of proceedings, with only a simple majority required in subsequent rounds. If the race is as close as Mr Infantino’s camp believes then Prince Ali could become kingmaker. However, Sheikh Salman remains the bookmakers’ favourite to win despite persistent questions over his human rights record.

Enough is enough. I will always be a president. Every day is a fiesta. I am a happy man. Sometimes sad, yes. But I am a happy man.

Outgoing president Sepp Blatter

fifa president