Joseph Blatter will have three opponents to earn a fifth term as FIFA President. Officers from football's governing body confirmed Luis Figo, Prince Ali Ben Al-Hussein and Michael Van Praag remain in the presidential race, while French candidates Jerome Champagne and ex-footballer David Ginola did not gather enough support from Federations around the world to support their bids.
As of now, each candidate will undergo integrity checks by FIFA's ethics committee in order to "formally admit and declare the candidates who are eligible for the office of FIFA President" in the course of the next few weeks.
Among the four contenders, only Dutch hopeful Michael Van Praag has stated a clear agenda if he was elected president. The Dutch Football Federation leader proposes to increase the number of countries playing the FIFA World Cup in order to include more European teams. Added to that, the Dutch officer promised to serve for four years only, so that FIFA could be modernized. He even asked Blatter to step aside from FIFA, offering him an advisory role.
Michael Van Praag during a press conference.
The Asian candidate, Prince Ali Ben Al-Hussein from Jordan almost dropped out of the race earlier, once his football federation stated they would still support Joseph Blatter despite having a contender representing their region. Prince Ali will host a campaign launch press conference this Tuesday. Experts believe he will present his platform during the event.
Prince Ali Ben Al-Hussein from Jordan.
The winner will be determined during FIFA's Congress to be held on May 29th in Zurich.
