Africa yet to make choice in race for FIFA Presidency, Hayatou suggests

Issa Hayatou has suggested no united African candidate will be selected for the FIFA Presidential Election ©Getty Images

Africa is yet to back one contender in the race for the FIFA Presidency, continental football chief Issa Hayatou has said, with the official himself also yet to make a personal choice.

Hayatou, the Cameroonian who is a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as well as the longstanding Confederation of African Football (CAF) head, said more discussions must be held before any sort of collective decision is considered.

"It's a decision for Africa to support a candidate," he said, according to Associated Press.

"It's not for me to support someone."

Earlier this month, Jordan's Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein became the latest entrant in a race currently headed by France's Michel Platini, the three-time World Cup player who now heads European governing body UEFA.

South Korea's Chung Moon-Joon, Liberian Football Association President Musa Bility, and former Brazilian international Zico are others to have declared their intentions.

CAF's ruling Executive Board decided unanimously last month not to support Bility following a presentation given by the 48-year-old in Cairo.

South Africa's Tokyo Sexwale said late last month he is still undecided over whether to launch a bid ©Getty Images

And Hayatou is remaining ambivalent over whether he would support a bid by South African businessman Tokyo Sexwale, who said last month he is "weighing all options" before the October 26 deadline to be nominated by five of the 209 FIFA members.

The official has spoken by telephone but claims to not yet know the intentions of Sexwale, an anti-apartheid activist and close ally of Nelson Mandela who in May was appointed by current President Sepp Blatter as a liaison between the Israeli and Palestinian Federations.

Africa has traditionally chosen one candidate to unite behind in FIFA elections, with Hayatou and his CAF colleagues vocal in their support of Blatter ahead of the election in Zurich in May, two-days before the Swiss' shock decision to stand-down later this year following a latest raft of corruption allegations against the governing body.

With the continental body containing 54 voting members, African support could be key, and will certainly be important if anyone is to mount a serious challenge to Platini.

Hayatou, who has suggested he will not run himself after being beaten by Blatter in the 2002 election, is due to chair a CAF Executive Committee meeting in Cairo the day after nominations close on October 27, after which intentions may become clearer.

FIFA’s member nations are due to vote for the new President on February 26 next year.