Tuesday 23 February 2016 15:31, UK
FIFA will have a new president on February 26. After 18 years, Sepp Blatter's controversial reign will come to an official end at the FIFA Congress in Zurich.
Five candidates want to replace Blatter and become the most powerful man in world football, and whoever wins will become the ninth elected president in FIFA's 112-year history.
The new president will be elected in a secret ballot of FIFA's 209 member associations, but Kuwait and Indonesia are banned, so there may be only 207 votes up for grabs.
Africa has 54 votes, Europe 53, Asia 46, North and Central America and the Caribbean 35, Oceania 11 and South America 10. A candidate needs two thirds of the votes to win in the first round. In subsequent rounds, the candidate with the lowest number of votes drops out and a simple majority is required to win.
During the past three months, Sky Sports News HQ has interviewed all five candidates - Sheikh Salman of Bahrain, Gianni Infantino, Prince Ali of Jordan, Jerome Champagne and Tokyo Sexwale.
Over the next few days we are profiling each candidate, study their manifestos and assess their chances. We continue the analysis by looking at Tokyo Sexwale.
TOKYO SEXWALE:
WHY IS HE STANDING?
Sexwale says he is a reluctant candidate. He says he was asked to stand by FIFA insiders after Blatter announced he would resign last June.
He describes himself as "a FIFA man" and he is well-connected in Zurich. FIFA has never had a president from outside Europe or South American and Sexwale says it is time for a black leader: "Blacks have been warming the bench for 111 years. The score is 111-0. The time has come to decolonise football. It has been led for too long by white men."
WHAT ARE HIS CHANCES?
Not good. His slim hopes of making any sort of impact rested on gaining the support of the African Football Confederation. Their executive committee announced on February 5 that they would be endorsing Sheikh Salman instead.
Sexwale was expected to withdraw from the contest at that stage, but he remained defiant and insisted he would make it to Zurich on February 26.
His campaign has been low key compared to some of the other candidates and it has been described by critics as lacklustre and low energy. There have been reports that his own South African Football Association was concerned by his failure to make any sort of impact.
When asked to assess his own chances, Sexwale said: "There is an element of risk. It is a zero-sum game."
WHAT KIND OF PRESIDENT WILL HE BE?
As one of the richest men in South Africa and a former host of their version of The Apprentice he knows all about delegating responsibility. He says his No 1 choice for secretary general would be Gianni Infantino and he has always been open to doing deals with the other candidates during the campaign.
He knows his way around FIFA, having served on the committee on racism and discrimination, and the media committee. He was also picked by Blatter for the sensitive role of chairman of the monitoring committee on Israel and Palestine.
WHAT STANDS OUT IN HIS MANIFESTO?
His manifesto is not as slick as the other candidates. Its most eye-catching proposal is allowing national teams to have commercial shirt sponsors.
Under a Sexwale presidency, there would be a real chance of England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland playing with "Vauxhall" on their shirts.
Sexwale justifies his proposal by pointing out that the majority of FIFA's 209 member are struggling financially and they need to raise funds. Re-distributing wealth to the poorest member associations is a key element of his 14-page manifesto.
WHAT DOES HE THINK OF SEPP BLATTER?
Sexwale says Blatter is his friend and he always stands by his friends. He stills speaks to Blatter on the telephone.
He believes Blatter has transformed the game during his 40-year FIFA career: "The work he has done is a monument and that monument cannot be moved. We need to have mercy in our hearts. I cannot celebrate another man's misfortune and misery."
WHO DOES HE BLAME FOR THE FIFA CRISIS?
Sexwale says FIFA is well run and he claims "not a penny has gone missing". He blames FIFA's problems on rogue officials in the Americas.
While that may apply to the US investigation into football corruption, it does not explain why the three most powerful men in world football - Blatter, Michel Platini and Jerome Valcke - have all been banned.
According to Sexwale, we should put football's problems into perspective: "The damage done is for posterity. It is not like they have murdered someone or committed genocide. It is only a game. We are here to understand and carry on their good work and learn from their mistakes."
WHO DOES HE SUPPORT?
Sexwale has been supporting Liverpool since he was in prison for 13 years with Nelson Mandela on Robben Island. He watches all their games on television in South Africa, usually with one of his closest aides - a Manchester United fan.
Watch full coverage of the FIFA Presidential Election on February 26 on Sky Sports News HQ.
