They are led by Lydia Nsekera, President of the Burundi Football Association and a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), who has held the position on an interim mandate since May 2012.

Among those challenging her is Sonia Bien-Aime, the general secretary of the Turks and Caicos Islands Football Association, one of the few officials in the Caribbean to emerge with her reputation enhanced from the bribery scandal which saw Qatar's Mohamed bin Hammam and Trinidad's Jack Warner lose their senior positions on FIFA.

She testified to the FIFA Ethics Committee investigating allegations of corruption that she had turned down $40,000 (£25,000/€30,000) in cash as a "gift" for attending a meeting arranged by Warner in 2011 when bin Hammam was challenging Sepp Blatter for the Presidency of FIFA.

The winner of the election, which is due to be held during the FIFA Congress in Mauritius on May 31, will hold the role until 2017. 

There are also two nominations from officials basd in the Oceania region, Asian Football Confederation vice-president Moya Dodd of Australia and New Zealand Football audit chairwoman Paula Kearns.

Dodd is a former vice-captain of the Matildas, Australia's women's football team, and is now a partner in Gilbert + Tobin, one of the premier corporate law firms.


Kearns is also chair of the audit, finance and risk governance committee of the ASB Community Trust, an independent grant making organisation with a multi-million dollar investment portfolio supporting the work of not for profit groups.

She also worked as an interim chief executive of New Zealand Football in 2008.

Blatter had pledged, after being elected for a fourth and final term in 2011, tthat as part of his reform process to clean up world football's governing body, a woman would be co-opted on to the Executive Committee.

Nsekera was given the role on an interim basis after modification of the FIFA Statutes at the 2012 Congress in Budapest.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


Related stories
May 2012: Burundi's Lydia Nsekera named as FIFA's first female Executive Committee member
January 2012: Exclusive - Blatter's female Executive Committee member promise has yet to be approved