Top 6 Candidates for FIFA President

The successor of Sepp Blatter, who stepped down recently, might be one of these possible candidates.

After the resignation of Sepp Blatter was announced, the race for the presidency of the FIFA is open once again.

• Platini the favorite to win the next election
• The time for change has come
• A more sensible campaign is expected

There are many possible applicants in advance for the position and online gambling sites in the EU will offer tremendous odds for those who want to wager on the applicants. In this piece we will rank and evaluate them not just for those who intend to bet on the election, but for those who are interested in the matters of international football as well.

1. Michel Platini

The current president of the UEFA is considered as the favorite for the job. He planned to run for the presidency before, but he is reportedly acknowledged that at best it would have been a longshot for him to collect enough votes to challenge Blatter and therefore he opted not to involve in the last campaign. With Blatter out of contention, he is arguably the most powerful person at large in the world of football.

After eight years in the driving seat of the European organization, he obviously has the experience to refurbish FIFA. However, his biggest problem might be that smaller footballing nations outside Europe, who tended to vote for Blatter, fearing that UEFA would dominate world football with Platini at the helm, will back his rival(s) against him.

2. Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein

Prince Ali of Jordan is ranked as second favorite for the next FIFA president at online online sportsbooks in the EU. He was the biggest opponent of Sepp Blatter in the last election, but he expressed that he intended to be no longer involved in the matters of FIFA if he lost. He did eventually, however the setting changed remarkably with Blatter on the way out and expectedly charged sooner or later by US prosecutors.

He is regarded as an immaculate candidate, impressing many of those who voted against him by his ideas about to build a transparent and accountable FIFA on the ruins of the present organization. Prince Ali, who has a position in the West Asian Football Federation, is a popular figure in world football with an extended network. With the backing of many national associations outside Europe, he could be the number one challenger of Platini, if both opted to engage in the next campaign. To put some money on him would be a reasonable decision.

3. Luis Figo

Figo decided to run for the presidency only to step down as a candidate a week before the election to support Prince Ali. He had a successful campaign though, impressing many with his personality, capabilities and his program, with the latter being regarded as the most complete amongst the candidates’ manifestos. As he might lack the experience to run a global organization of such extent, it is no surprise that no online sportsbook ranks him as the favorite to win the next election. However, he might be an ideal character to lead an already transformed FIFA in the future.

4. Ted Howard

He recently got the general secretary job at CONCACAF, replacing Enrique Sanz, who was arrested in Zurich together with all the other FIFA leaders accused of corruption. He is a well-known figure in sports business, having worked with the NBA before, and he is the former executive director of the North American Soccer League. He might have problems getting votes from Africa and Asia, though if he opted to engage in a campaign featuring several candidates, he could be able to emerge as a serious challenger with the support of the associations of the Americas.

5. Senes Erzik

Some of those who bet on sports in the US might prefer the leader of the Turkish Football Associaton, who is considered as a neutral character in the sport, though having been involved in the executive committee for nearly 20 years. He might have the support of the majority of the African associations, though it is not clear that he would be apply for the position eventually.

6. Issa Hayatou

He is an outsider amongst the other possible candidates, as the president of the Confederation of African Football being one of Blatter’s men. He is often criticized for making a similar mess of the African organization to the one that Blatter made worldwide. It is a big question about him that he intended to think it over and try to reform FIFA, or just wanted to capitalize on Blatter’s popularity to become the first black president of the International Football Association.

The majority of the possible candidates are capable of doing a good job if elected, so the biggest question about many of them is whether they intend to run for the presidency or not. Those who lost their interest for good after Blatter was elected again might take on the opportunity to fight for a clean and transparent FIFA however. Hopefully the next campaign will be about reforming the organization indeed, instead of making promises for small countries with virtually nonexistent football.