Fifa presidency election: What now for the election race following suspension of Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini?

Tom Peck takes a look what next for world football's governing body following the latest developments

The Fifa sign outside their headquarters in Zurich (Getty Images)

As things stand, Fifa is due to hold an election for its next President at the end of February, and the deadline for candidates to declare is October 26th.

Already there are calls for the election to be postponed. The outgoing President, Sepp Blatter, has been suspended from all football related activity, potentially up until three days before the election, as has Fifa’s Secretary General Jerome Valcke. The organisation is currently being all but run by its private lawyers.

So what happens next?

Michel Platini, the favourite for the job, announced he had formally submitted his candidature, complete with the required backing from five national associations this morning, just minutes before he was suspended by Fifa.

Had he not already done so, it would be impossible for him to stand in the election. He has called the investigation into him “insidious” and done “to tarnish my reputation.”

Dr Chung Mong-Joon, the South Korean billionaire businessman of the Hyundai car dynasty, was also a candidate, but has now been suspended from all football for six years, over improper conduct and involvement in the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids. Korea bid unsuccessfully for the 2022 tournament.

That leaves Platini’s bid hanging by a thread, with only two other formal candidates. First, there is the Liberian FA President Musa Bility, who will struggle to receive the required five nominations from member associations.

Fifa investigation timeline

Secondly, Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein, the uninspiring Jordanian Prince and former Fifa Executive Committee member, who lost to Sepp Blatter in May.

Tokyo Sexwale, the South African politician and businessman and anti-apartheid activist who was involved in South Africa’s successful 2010 World Cup bid is also understood to be considering standing, and is highly regarded in Europe and elsewhere.

Skeikh Salman of Bahrain, the head of the Asian Football Confederation, is considered another likely candidate. The Asian Confederation had been thought likely to support Platini, but that is less likely now. The backing of the huge Asian Confederation, which would be all but guaranteed, would deliver more than half the required 105 votes to win the election on its own.