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South African former minister Tokyo Sexwale faces a mountain in his bid to become president of world football’s governing body, Fifa.
However, an upbeat Sexwale told City Press on Friday on his return from Cairo, where he had addressed the Confederation of African Football (CAF), that he told them: “It’s time for Africa to have its own candidate, and this African child is ready to represent it as Fifa president.”
Sexwale, together with other Fifa presidential candidates Sheikh Salman Bin Ibrahim al-Khalifa (Asia), Prince Ali Bin al-Hussein (Asia) and Gianni Infantino (Europe), made separate presentations at closed CAF sessions.
The fact that another African candidate, the 48-year-old Liberian Football Association president, Musa Hassan Bility, was not invited, while Frenchman Jérôme Champagne (57) was not among those who made presentations, was a huge political statement.
Bility has been at loggerheads with CAF for some time and received a tongue lashing from CAF president Issa Hayatou in August for declaring his candidacy without consulting the continental body.
After giving him a chance to present his case, CAF released a terse statement that “the CAF executive committee decided unanimously not to give Musa Bility the support he requested”.
His response was: “I did not go to get a unanimous vote.”
The outspoken Liberian also declared: “I don’t want to come across as an Africa candidate. I am running as a candidate of the world. I am running as a candidate of football.”
His love-hate relationship with CAF saw him banned for six months in 2013 for violating statutes relating to the use of confidential documents.
But his continued bid means that, for now, Africa has two candidates. The same applies to Europe, with Champagne and Infantino. Asia has the prince and the sheikh.
While confederations rarely vote as a bloc, should all six candidates run on February 26, the votes will be highly depleted.
Having impressed Safa and possibly CAF with his presentations, Sexwale will now have to convince the rest of the 209 Fifa members, which vote individually.
This means a mammoth campaign of crisscrossing the globe, just as he did as part of South Africa’s successful bid to host the 2010 Fifa World Cup.
Uefa president Michel Platini’s suspension – which rules him out of the race until the Fifa Ad-hoc electoral committee takes a final decision on whether he can enter – has weakened Europe.
He had emerged as a favourite to take over from Sepp Blatter, who stepped down six days after being voted in for his fifth term.
An allegation of corruption over a $2 million payment made by Fifa to him nine years after he had done work for them – which Blatter referred to as part of a “gentlemen’s agreement” – later led to a 90-day suspension.
In response, Uefa came up with their general secretary, the little-known Infantino, as their candidate.
While Africa, with 54 members, is the biggest bloc within Fifa, Europe has proven to be the most powerful in the past. South America, which has some of the most powerful football-playing nations, such as Brazil and Argentina, among its 10 members, has a tendency to go with Europe, but most voted for South Africa to host the 2010 World Cup.
Another interesting element was the ruling out of former Trinidad and Tobago captain David Nakhid.
According to Fifa, his candidacy was invalidated by a spoilt nomination from the US Virgin Islands, which had nominated another candidate too.
His elimination leaves the 35 votes of North and Central America open to all the other candidates.
The region has tended to be sympathetic to Africa in the past.
The two Asian candidates also have their problems, with some observers saying that it might be problematic to have a president from a region that will host the 2022 Fifa World Cup – in Qatar.
Sheikh al-Khalifa’s candidature has also drawn criticism from human rights organisations.
They accuse him of “complicity in crimes against humanity” for allegedly heading a committee that identified 150 athletes, including international footballers, involved in prodemocracy demonstrations in 2011.
Many of these individuals were later imprisoned and tortured.
He has denied the allegations.
All these scenarios might present more problems than solutions for Sexwale, who might have to keep adjusting his election campaign.
While Fifa preaches “fair play” on and off the field, dirty tricks have tended to be the order of the day in the lead-up to elections, and Sexwale will not be spared.
Come election day, those still standing will have to either secure two-thirds of the vote in the first round (139 out of 209 votes) to win outright or get a simple majority if voting goes to a second round.
Prince Ali received 73 votes to Blatter’s 133 in May, which would have forced a second round, but he pulled out, ceding victory to the Swiss.
Is Sexwale capable of winning the elections? The answer is yes. Has he got what it takes to win? Again, the answer must be in the affirmative. Can he lead Fifa out of the quagmire? Yes.
But whether he can secure enough votes from the mixed bag of 209 football associations is the milliondollar question.
