ZURICH, Switzerland (AP) – Struggling for money and reeling from successive scandals, two groups of newly appointed leaders of American football have travelled to Switzerland in the hope of reviving their once important influence on the sport’s governing body, FIFA.
To achieve that, some just want to be on the winning side in Friday’s vote for a new FIFA president.
Delegations from the Miami-based Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) and the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) based in Asuncion, Paraguay, have flown in to participate in FIFA’s congress.
Their aim is not only to take part in the election of a new president to replace Joseph Blatter, but also to emphasize their weight in the sport by backing the eventual winner.
“Our minds aren’t totally made up yet, but we would like to present a united front in order to have more power afterward”, said Paraguayan federation President Ramon Gonzalez. “Hopefully, we’ll all back the winning candidate.”