Hayatou assures Nigeria of support — Federation Internationale de Football Association Presidency

“President Blatter agrees with that, and hopefully things will change in the future”.

FIFA’s African vice president Issa Hayatou says he is not publicly backing a candidate in the election to succeed Sepp Blatter.

“Platini is part of this world of Federation Internationale de Football Association and Uefa and nothing positive happens under their mandate”.

USA attorney general Loretta Lynch said in Zurich on September 14 more charges could follow “against individuals and entities” in the investigations.

Blatter’s reluctance to visit countries which have an extradition treaty with the United States appears to have affected FIFA’s business schedule.

Zico talked to the AP in a telephone interview after meeting with Blatter at FIFA’s headquarters in Zurich.

That had previously been scheduled to take place on December . 17-18 in Japan, which hosts the Club World Cup and where Blatter could risk arrest.

The session which will open tomorrow at 14:00 local time (12:00GMT) and close on Friday afternoon will be overseen by deputy secretary general Markus Kattner who has stepped in to replace Valcke. Valcke denies wrongdoing.

“The federations must be allowed to make their own choices”, Zico said.

Seven top Federation Internationale de Football Association officials were arrested by Swiss and American authorities at the annual Congress earlier this year, with charges mainly relating to the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

Fifa also confirmed that Brazilian executive committee member Marco Polo del Nero had failed to attend a meeting in Zurich on Monday of the Olympic Football tournaments organising committee, which he chairs.

“As for Platini, he’s from the same school as Blatter”, said the 49-year-old former PSV Eindhoven and Barcelona star.

The 69-year-old from Cameroon was well beaten by Blatter in the 2002 election, which was held after a corruption scandal and financial crisis provoked by the collapse of ISL, a marketing agency which sold World Cup broadcast rights.

Blatter shocked the soccer world on June 2 by announcing he would resign.