Crisis-hit world football governing body FIFA faces one of the most important days in its 112-year history when it elects a new leader on Friday, hoping to usher in a fresh era after decades of corruption.
Delegates from more than 200 countries will vote for a new president to succeed Sepp Blatter, two days after the disgraced Swiss, and European soccer chief Michel Platini, lost their appeals against bans for ethics violations.
Latest updates
8.25 p.m.:FIFA election officials are counting the votes for president after the first round.
8.15 p.m.: The first round of voting has been completed
7.30 p.m.: The voting process is proving a long, drawn out affair. After an hour's voting, we have crawled to L for Latvia with little to get excited about apart from the brief appearance of Davor Suker, Golden Boot winner as the top scorer at the 1998 World Cup, as he cast Croatia's vote.
Time then for a reminder that for a candidate to be elected in the first round, he must obtain at least 138 votes, two-thirds of the 207 votes cast.
If this does not happen, a second round is held. This time, a simple majority -- 104 votes, which represents more than 50 percent of the votes -- is sufficient for a candidate to be elected.
If no candidate gets that majority, the one with fewest votes will be eliminated and a new round will be held. This continues until one candidate obtains a majority.
6.35 p.m.: Voting has begun in the FIFA presidential election with Afghanistan filling in the first of 207 ballot papers.
The first—round result is expected to be known in about two hours, with four candidates in the contest.
6.25 p.m.: The first delegates begin to vote.. Markus Kattner, FIFA general secretary then reminds delegates of the voting procedure, reminding them not to photograph their ballot papers.
Having begun his speech by promising to "die with my boots on", Sexwale ends it by withdrawing from the race,
"I have got a surprise for you. My campaign ends today and I suspend my participation. With only four people it is your problem now." > Read more
6.24 p.m.: Sexwale then surprises the room by announcing he has suspended his participation and is out of the election. Sexwale calls for FIFA's Task Force on Anti Racism to become a permanent committee because "racism is going to be with us for a long long time.
6.16 p.m.: Tokyo Sexwale, the last of the five candidates, takes to the podium and says he had not considered withdrawing from the race despite appearing to be an outsider. "I am a soldier and I die with my boots on," says the South African.
(FIFA Presidential candidate Tokyo Sexwale. Photo: Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)
"I'm sorry about what happened to our friends Mr Blatter and others, he is our family, I hope they are able to solve their problems and one day we can see them as different people."
"Nelson Mandela taught us never to rejoice in the pain and misery of others."
6.15 p.m.: Infantino: "Destiny, which brought me to start the journey, an exciting journey, a fantastic journey. Five months ago I was not thinking of being a candidate but many things have happened."
(FIFA presidential candidate Gianni Infantino of Italy and Switzerland. Photo: Reuters)
"When I speak about figures I know what I am talking about. I've been managing UEFA for the last seven years -- during which time the revenues went up by three times.
"If FIFA generates five billion, is it normal that 1.2 billion cannot be distributed for investment in football? The money of FIFA is your money" This raises a round of applause from the delegates.
After Champagne, Gianni Infantino takes to the stage, saying he wants to speak from the heart, so needs to speak Italian, before rattling through French, Spanish, Portuguese and German before settling on English for the bulk of his main speech.
(FIFA presidential candidate Jerome Champagne of France. Photo: Reuters)
6.15 p.m.: Champagne: "You can vote according to your conscience but vote for the candidate who is truly independent, for the candidate who has an unblemished record."
6.05 p.m.: Champagne: "Inequalities exist between our continents - it is a legacy of our history."
He warns against the "NBA-ization" of the game. "Do you want a football that will become like basketball, concentrated in a very limited number of countries or leagues? Or do you want to football to continue in a universal way."
5.45 p.m.: Jerome Champagne takes to the stage and bemoans the fact that no debate took place between the candidates - something he asked for.
5.33 p.m.: Sheikh Salman: "Everyone knows me around FIFA as a president of a confederation, a vice-president of FIFA. My track record speaks for itself"
(FIFA Presidential candidate Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa. Photo: Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)
Prince Ali: "I am the only candidate who has consistently demonstrated a real commitment to a new style of leadership".
The Jordanian prince made a speech of no more than 15 minutes to the 207 voters, speaking immediately before front-runner Sheikh Salman.
Prince Ali says FIFA should have “no acceptance” of mismanagement, corruption, self—interest, racism, sexism or human rights violations a clear reference to Bahrain’s detention and alleged abuse of national team players who took part in Arab Spring protests in 2011.
5.20 p.m.: Prince Ali: "Football has thrived but FIFA has floundered - the game has carried its governing body"
(FIFA Presidential candidate H.R.H Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein. Photo: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
5.15 p.m.: Congress re-starts. Prince Ali first of the five candidates to speak. "The congress will now proceed to the election" says Hayatou
4.32 p.m.: Victor Montagliani, president of the Canadian Soccer Association and a member of the FIFA Reform Committee, tells Reuters: "This is not the end, it is a start, let's not wait another 100 years, we should be reviewing this on a consistent basis to stay modern and on the sharp edge."
4.30 p.m.: "I think it is a successful beginning it is a start, a foundation, I am very happy that it was passed with a very strong majority," Francois Carrard, Chairman of the Reform Committee, tells Reuters.
Congress breaks for one hour lunch
4.02 p.m.: FIFA now vote on the expulsion of Canover Watson (Cayman Islands) from the audit and compliance committee — accepted, 196 votes in favour; 2 against. FIFA votes in reforms with 89 per cent in favour. >Read more
(A general view as a vote is taken during the Extraordinary FIFA Congress at Hallenstadion in Zurich, Switzerland on Friday. Photo: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
4.01 p.m.: FIFA Congress approves reforms to curb president’s powers, protect against corruption.
3.55 p.m.: Palestine becomes first association to challenge the reforms, saying: "This reform in our opinion, seriously threatens the future of Fifa."
3.55 p.m.: Soccer leaders are meeting to elect a new FIFA president, with Asian confederation head Sheikh Salman of Bahrain the favorite to succeed Sepp Blatter. Voting was scheduled to begin at about 1300 GMT following speeches by the five candidates. No candidate is expected to win in the first round, where 138 votes from the 207 eligible voters are needed for victory.
(FIFA Acting president Issa Hayatou talks during the Extraordinary FIFA Congress at Hallenstadion in Zurich, Switzerland on Friday. Photo: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
3.49 p.m.: Acting FIFA president Issa Hayatou says the corruption crisis was a result of "the smallest of minorities in our organization and only a few actions over the past year". "We understand the need for profound change and we will set up this change," Hayatou tells delegates. "We need time but we are on the right rack and can no longer step back. "I am convinced about our unity. We have to seize this opportunity because it's our shared responsibility; the difficulty task of repairing and restoring our organization rests on our shoulders."
3:41 p.m.: Acting FIFA president Issa Hayatou welcomes delegates to the congress. "The future of FIFA is at stake after a year of crisis and ups and downs; we can shape the future together, it should not fill us with fear," he says in his opening address. Kattner said staff morale has been hit by a looming $550 million financial deficit. Kattner also added that the FIFA election congress there is “general uncertainty that is affecting morale of the FIFA team.” FIFA has not signed any new World Cup sponsors since the 2014 tournament in Brazil.
3.16 p.m.: On the day of the FIFA presidential election, security forces are on the streets of Bahrain’s capital in a sizeable show of force rarely seen since the island nation’s 2011 uprising. Sheikh Salman, a member of Bahrain’s ruling family, is one of the favorites to succeed Sepp Blatter as FIFA president. It’s not clear what security forces were preparing for Friday ahead of noon prayers, but travel within Manama was nearly impossible. Sheikh Salman repeatedly has denied having any role in Bahraini soccer players being identified and arrested during the 2011 crackdown by the government led by his family, the island’s Sunni rulers. It also comes after security forces in eastern Saudi Arabia killed a Bahraini man several days ago.
(Protesters shout slogans and brandish placards during a protest against FIFA presidential candidate Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa on the sidelines of the Extraordinary FIFA Congress at Hallenstadion in Zurich, Switzerland on Friday. Photo: Philipp Schmidli/Getty Images)
Earlier , IOC president Thomas Bach has told soccer leaders that new standards of governance are now required as they prepare to elect a new president.
In an attempt to prevent corruption, 207 nations were also voting on reforms at soccer’s governing body.
Bach told the FIFA extraordinary congress that “we live in a world that is asking new questions ... you can’t compare the standards of good governance of yesterday with the requirements of today.”
FIFA has been fighting for its future since leading officials, including vice presidents, were indicted in a U.S. bribery and racketeering investigation.
Urging FIFA members to adopt the reforms, Bach says “you have this great chance to turn the page and start a new chapter for football.”
Sepp Blatter wasn’t at the Zurich congress to hand over power to a new FIFA president because he is serving a six-year ban from soccer for financial mismanagement.
Bach says “you are electing your new team leader. Today you are deciding your new game strategy.”
A wide-ranging set of reforms, which are designed to prevent corruption, will be voted on before the presidential election and are expected to be passed. They include term limits for top officials and disclosure of their earnings.
Whoever takes over from Blatter, who ran FIFA for 17 years like a globe-trotting head of state, will inherit a very different job, with the focus on crisis management, after dozens of international soccer officials were indicted in the United States last year for racketeering, money-laundering and bribery.
Asian Football Confederation (AFC) president Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa is the bookmakers' favourite with UEFA's Swiss general secretary Gianni Infantino a close second.
Jordanian Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein believes he is still firmly in the race however, while Frenchman Jerome Champagne and South African Tokyo Sexwale will hope to make an impact.
Blatter's six-year ban from football means he cannot attend the congress, but many groups and associations have sought his advice ahead of Friday's vote, according to the 79-year-old.
“I only answered: vote for who you want,” Blatter was quoted as saying in Friday's edition of Swiss newspaper Aargauer Zeitung. Blatter, who denies wrongdoing, said he had had contact with all of the candidates except Prince Ali.
Africa key
Supporters of Sheikh Salman lined the road outside the Hallenstadion early on Friday as delegates began to arrive.
Around 50 held banners proclaiming “FIFA Will Be Safe With Salman” and “Support The Clean Man”, and there was little indication on Friday morning that the vote would be anything other than a two-horse race between him and Infantino.
“I am feeling good and very positive. The support I am receiving fills me with confidence,” Infantino told Reuters.
A spokesman for his Bahraini rival said: “Sheikh Salman is very confident about (the) vote.”
The CONCACAF confederation for North and Central America and the Caribbean opted against endorsing a candidate and delegates suggested that support within the region was divided.
With no block vote from those 35 delegates, Africa's decision now looks set to be the decisive factor.
African countries make up more than a quarter of the 207 football associations eligible to vote. On the final day of campaigning, there were sharply conflicting versions of how they would cast their ballots.
While the vice-president of their continental federation said virtually all would back Sheikh Salman, several delegates told Reuters the African vote would be split.
Infantino has said he was confident of winning more than half of the African votes, while Liberian soccer chief Musa Bility predicted the possibly unlikely scenario of 27 of the region's votes going to Jordan's Prince Ali.
“The world is waiting and watching — this is the biggest milestone in the history of FIFA. It will decide if FIFA goes ahead as we want or if it spirals down,” Prince Ali told delegates.
FIFA was plunged into turmoil by the corruption scandal that broke last year, beginning with a dawn raid to arrest delegates at a Swiss luxury hotel.
Criminal investigations led by the United States and Switzerland have spanned dozens of countries, focusing largely on the awarding of lucrative broadcast and marketing rights to the world's most popular sport.
They are also examining the process by which FIFA awarded the next two World Cups to Russia and Qatar.
Acting FIFA president Issa Hayatou has appealed to FIFA members to back the package of reforms on governance. “I urge each of you to support the reforms in full here this week, and then to implement them to their entirety at home,” Hayatou said in an address aimed at the six confederations that run soccer around the world.
