Walter Nyamilandu mum on Fifa vote
Football Association of Malawi (Fam) president, Walter Nyamilandu, has kept his Fifa presidential choice under wraps ahead of Friday’s elections in Switzerland.
Nyamilandu left for Zurich on Tuesday. Fam executive met during Saturday’s Extra-ordinary general meeting (EGM) at Chiwembe Village in Blantyre.
The Fam boss refused to disclose his choice on Sunday, a day before first vice-president, James Mwenda and general secretary, Suzgo Nyirenda left for the Fifa Elective Congress in Zurich.
“My vote remains confidential as per constitutional requirement. I need to respect the statutes,” insisted Nyamilandu, who previously claimed that it was his executive that would decide on the choice.
The Fifa race is among Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim al-Khalifa (Bahrain), Gianni Infantino (Italy), Tokyo Sexwale (South Africa), Jerome Champagne (France) and Prince Ali bin al-Hussein (Jordan).
The presidential candidates are high-profile. Sheikh Salman is also president of Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and Fifa executive committee member, whereas Infantino is Uefa general secretary.
Sexwale is a business guru, Champagne (former Fifa deputy general secretary), and Prince Ali bin al-Hussein (Jordan FA boss and former Fifa executive member).
Infantino has, in his bid to replace Sepp Blatter as Fifa president, the most backing from the 54-member Uefa.
The Fifa congress will also pass a wide range of reforms, including presidential term limits. All the 207 member states have one vote each.
Confederation of African Football (Caf) and AFC, who boast 56 and 47 votes respectively, have declared their support for Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim al-Khalifa.
Some suggest that the election is a two-horse race between Sheikh Salman and Infantino.
Voting is through a secret ballot and winning candidates will be decided through two-thirds majority or 138 votes after the first round.
If no candidate garners the two-thirds, those attaining a simple majority in the next round of voting will get the world football top seat.
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