Platini ally joining race for Federation Internationale de Football Association job

The members of Uefa’s executive committee have agreed to back Infantino – Michel Platini’s right-hand man for the past six years.

Salman is one of eight declared candidates ahead of Monday’s deadline for bids to stand in the February 26 election for president of the scandal-hit organisation.

But Uefa did not clarify what Infantino’s candidacy means for Michel Platini, the Uefa president who is also running for the Fifa leadership but is now serving a 90-day ban from football pending a probe into a US$2 million (HK$15.6 million) payment from Fifa.

“He has been a long-time advocate of the need for change and renewed development at FIFA, and would bring a refreshing and informed voice to the top table of football’s world governing body”.

Asian Football Confederation president Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa has reportedly launched his bid to replace Sepp Blatter as FIFA president.

His entry into the election throws the contest wide open – he had previously backed Platini until his suspension, commands widespread support in Asia and is a close ally of influential Olympic powerbroker Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah from Kuwait.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said in a statement it had offered overwhelming support to Sheikh Salman who had assured it “that his campaign will be entirely self-financed”. “He is in the process of submitting the required nominations and will issue a statement ‎ on his candidacy later today”.

Bility told the BBC: “I am a very happy man”.

On Saturday, South Africa’s Tokyo Sexwale, a former Apartheid-era political prisoner turned businessman, announced he would stand.

However, even without Infantino’s announcement, his chances of receiving the backing of European federations may not have been helped by the fact he has been heavily criticised by human rights campaigners for his role in suppressing pro-democracy demonstrations in Bahrain in 2011. A scion of South Korea’s Hyundai industrial conglomerate, Chung was banned from the sport for six years by Federation Internationale de Football Association, after an investigation into the decision to award the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 tournament to Qatar.

He said on his blog: “Because of the Ethics Committee’s unjust sanctions, I will have to miss the October 26 deadline to file my candidacy”.

FIFA has been rocked by the U.S Department of Justice’s decision on May 27 to indict 14 football officials and sports marketing executives in a corruption investigation.

“FIFA members should look long and hard at the Al Khalifas’ use of torture and allegations that Sheikh Salman failed to protect footballers from abuses, and ask themselves if this is a family they want to represent them at the highest level”, McGeehan said.