The race for Fifa House ends on Friday. Introducing the five presidential candidates, their records, and their chances

Change we can believe in … Said & Done’s guide to Fifa’s five contenders

1. Sheikh Salman

Bahrain; age 50. Odds: 8-15fav

Who is he? Bahraini royal, FA head and Asia’s football president. Enjoys wild boar hunting and denying wrongdoing. Says he’ll bring “moral, ethical” change to Fifa.

What are his chances? Backed by Asia and Africa, but held back by regular tough press in Europe – “nasty lies” linking him to a 2011 crackdown on pro-democracy footballers. “It’s really hurtful. Some people have an agenda on their table.” This month he drew a line by signing Amnesty’s human rights pledge, after amending it to remove references to Russia, Qatar, women and LGBT groups. “We must not be selective when it concerns human rights.”

Will he bring change? He’s conservative. Last year he set out his view on Fifa’s corruption crisis with a speech addressed to “Dear Sepp… rest assured, the Asian football family stands firmly behind you.” In 2014 he called on the public not to take western press coverage of Qatar’s slave problem “too seriously… Most of it is artificial.”

His best policy? Streamlining next week’s vote, by suggesting that all his rivals drop out to avoid the distress that democracy can bring. “If we go to election there will be losers. Maybe sometimes you need to avoid that.”

They say: “There is credible evidence he aided and abetted crimes against humanity” – Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain.

He says: “I cannot deny something that I haven’t done … Integrity, respect and tolerance are the heart of my campaign.”

2. Gianni Infantino

Switzerland; age 45. Odds: 6-4

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Gianni Infantino: genial. Photograph: Denis Balibouse/Reuters

Who is he? Qualified lawyer, Uefa general secretary since 2009, genial ball-draw host.



What are his chances? Second favourite, by default. Infantino planned to drop out of the race when Michel Platini beat his corruption ban. Now he’s backed by leaders in Conmebol and Europe, including Greg Dyke.

Will he bring change? Last month Infantino said he’d deliver a “now-or-never” change of ethos, then defended spending €500,000 of Uefa’s money on renting a jet. “It is budgeted for, it is accounted for.” Among other lines from his celebrity endorsement event at Wembley: a refusal to rule out making Sepp Fifa’s honorary president (“I respect very much all the work he did”); a refusal to disclose his Uefa salary; a rejection of criticism of Uefa’s work on match-fixing; and a denial that he’d done a behind-closed-doors deal to be Sheikh Salman’s general secretary.

His best policies? He’s banking on some of Sepp’s stock election winners: more cash for member associations and an expanded World Cup. He denied using policies to buy votes. “I’m not buying anything. It’s not my money.”

They say: “His programme is smoke and mirrors” – rival Jérôme Champagne.

He says: “We have to change. We have to make a better way.”

3. Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein

Jordan; age 40. Odds: 12-1



Facebook Twitter Pinterest Prince Ali bin al-Hussein: crowd pleaser. Photograph: John Walton/PA

Who is he? Sandhurst-trained ex-special forces; third son of Jordan’s late King Hussein; 43rd generation direct descendant of the prophet Muhammad; beaten 133-73 by Sepp in May.



What are his chances? Slim. He put voters off with talk of ending Fifa’s mob culture. “We want to get to a day when people don’t even know who the president of Fifa is.”

Will he bring change? His manifesto ethos includes turning the pyramid of power “upside down” – radical from the brother of Jordan’s king. But some of his reflexes are more traditional, including this month criticising the suspension of funding to corruption-mired Concacaf and Conmebol. His backers include Liberia’s Musa Bility, who failed an ethics test last year.

His best policy? A crowd pleaser: upping grants from $250k a year to $1m.

They say: “He was a good candidate. But I am president now. I am the president of everybody” – Sepp, after beating him in May.

He says: “I can guarantee you, I am the right person for this job.”

4. Tokyo Sexwale

South Africa; age 62. Odds: 50-1

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tokyo Sexwale: owns an island. Photograph: Jeff Mitchell/Getty Images

Who is he? Multimillionaire mining tycoon, long-time Fifa insider, ex-host of South Africa’s The Apprentice, former apartheid-era political prisoner, and owner of a £45m tropical island in the Indian Ocean.

What are his chances? Not even his own confederation, Caf, is backing him. Sexwale (seh-wa-le) has taken heavy criticism for a “low energy” campaign, bad spelling, and for being over-eager to do voting deals with rivals – a process he called “healthy, democratic and good”. Last month he denied French media allegations that he made $210m in kickbacks during a mining deal in 2007. His lawyer called the claims “absolutely execrable”.

Will he bring change? No.

His best policy? Spotting an untapped revenue stream to appeal to voting members: selling advertising on national shirts. “That is my strategic priority.”

They say: “Even I’m more competent than Sexwale” – Ghana FA head Kwesi Nyantakyi.

He says: “Sepp Blatter’s work is a monument. A mountain that cannot be moved.”

5. Jérôme Champagne

France; age 57. Odds: 66-1

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Jérôme Champagne: Pelé’s choice. Photograph: Suzanne Plunkett/Reuters

Who is he? Former French diplomat, Fifa executive from 1999 to 2010, and Blatter’s 2002 election campaign manager.

What are his chances? Rank outsider, thanks in part to credible policies.

Will he bring change? A fierce streak of Fifa loyalty has undermined his reforming agenda, but may have made his candidacy more palatable to Congress. Among his recent reassuring lines: telling delegates at Concacaf, whose last three presidents have all been arrested: “The media treats your region unfairly”; revealing that Fifa is “falsely accused of all evils in world football”, and explaining why Fifa cannot be run by an outsider: “We can’t afford to have someone coming from Mars or Venus spending two years to understand the subtleties, the idiosyncrasies and all the complexities.”

His best policy? See above.

They say: “I support Jérôme. I know his vision for change” – Pelé.

He says: “History will judge Sepp kindly.”



