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Kalu,
Odegbami and Pinnick
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Neither
the former governor of Abia State and erstwhile strongman of Enyimba Football
club, Chief Orji Uzor Kalu nor former Nigerian International, the
“Mathematical” Segun Odegbami was able to meet the conditions rolled out by
the NFF Executive Committee for Nigerians aspiring for the Office of President
of FIFA before the real contest before the Monday October 26 midnight
deadline set by FIFA.
It
would be recalled that Nigeria Football Federation, Amadju Pinnick had said the
conditions set by NFF were not targeted at any aspirant and that they are
simply designed to induct the determined persons into the furnace of football
politics.
GRAPHITTI NEWS/Press Association report continues:
“Our
criteria are reasonable and sensible; this is not a matter for sentiment. We do
not underestimate the capacity of the aspirants, but the FIFA presidential race
involves too many things and rests on a lot of factors.”
Coming
out in support of the NFF, one-time Secretary General of then Nigeria Football
Association, Hon. Sani Ahmed Toro gave strong backing to the conditions
stipulated by the NFF, insisting that those who have opposed the conditions
have their own motives.
“I
commend the NFF for the conditions, because we cannot allow people to go out to
the international sphere to ridicule Nigeria.
“Look,
vying for the Presidency of FIFA is a very serious business with strong
political waters to navigate. It is not a picnic. How many votes does Africa as
a whole have? And which of the Nigerian aspirants will be hoping to get
Africa’s block vote? Let us stop deceiving ourselves.”
Toro,
a former Member of the House of Representatives, was Secretary General of then
Nigeria Football Federation between 1993 and 1999, commonly referred to as
the Golden Era of Nigeria Football.
However
two African candidates, Musa Bility of Liberia and Tokyo Sexwale of South
Africa easily secured their respective countries’ FAs’ nominations. A spokesman
for South Africa's Tokyo Sexwale, a former anti-apartheid activist who was
imprisoned on Robben Island with Nelson Mandela, said he has secured the five
nominations necessary to run.
Eight
candidates are in the race for the FIFA presidency after a couple of late
entries before the deadline for nominations passed.
A
surprise entry was by UEFA's general secretary Gianni Infantino. Infantino
announced he will run for the presidency of the world governing body following
a last-minute meeting of the European body's executive committee.
Infantino
- Michel Platini's right-hand man for the last six years - received the
unanimous backing of UEFA's executive committee. Platini has also submitted his
candidacy for the election but is currently banned for 90 days pending a
disciplinary hearing into a £1.3million payment signed off by outgoing
president Sepp Blatter in 2011.
Another
former player, Brazil's Zico, was forced to call an end to his hopes after
failing to secure five nominations before the deadline of 11pm GMT.
The
other candidates who have submitted their candidacies are Sheikh Salman bin
Ebrahim Al Khalifa, the leader of Asian football, Prince Ali bin Al Hussein of
Jordan, former Trinidad and Tobago player David Nakhid, former FIFA deputy
general secretary Jerome Champagne and Liberian FA president Musa Bility.
The
eight candidates will all have to pass integrity checks before taking part in
the election on February 26.
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Gianni
Infantino has joined the race to become FIFA president
|
Infantino,
who is understood to have held talks with senior figures in the Asian
confederation about standing, could step down if Platini is cleared of all
charges, but otherwise would be a strong candidate in his own right.
Infantino
said: "I will in due course be setting out my detailed thinking in a
manifesto which will address the challenges and opportunities ahead. It will be
based on the need for reform and also for a FIFA that genuinely serves the
interests of all 209 national associations, big or small, and that puts
football and football development at the top of its agenda.''
Sheikh
Salman, who is from Bahrain, is influential in football - he commands
widespread support in Asia and is a close ally of Olympic powerbroker Sheikh
Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah from Kuwait.
A
member of the Bahrain royal family, he has attracted opposition from human
rights organizations due to the regime's role in the suppression of the
country's pro-democracy demonstrations in 2011.
A
statement from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said: ''Sheikh Salman has
assured the AFC executive committee, who offered him overwhelming support, and
the 47 AFC member associations that his campaign will be entirely self-financed
and that he will not use the AFC's resources, human or otherwise, in the
election.''
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