FIFA presidential favourites Gianni Infantino and Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al-Khalifa embarked on a final scramble for votes on Wednesday ahead of the election to lead world football’s scandal-tainted governing body.
The poll is seen as crucial to repairing the organisation’s reputation, which has been battered by a series of unprecedented corruption scandals, but just two days before the vote, protests over the secrecy of ballots have mounted.
Front-runners Infantino the Swiss-Italian acting chief of European football and Sheikh Salman of Bahrain, Asian football’s president, have so far stayed clear of the controversy over balloting. Jerome Champagne of France, who along with South Africa’s Tokyo Sexwale rounds out the list of five presidential challengers, has joined the Jordanian prince’s call for greater transparency.