Fifa confirms five presidential candidates for Feb. 26 election

Prince ALi Bin Al Hussein, Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Kjalifa, Gianni Infantino, Tokyo Sexwale and Jerome Champagne were the five candidates officially confirmed by the FIFA on Tuesday to battle for the presidency of the world football's governing body in elections set for Feb 26.

The five candidates are bidding to replace Sepp Blatter, whose presidency ended on Dec. 21 when he was banned for eight years by FIFA's ethics committee. The elections will be held in Zurich.

Blatter, who had been in charge since 1998, was banned by FIFA's ethics judge Hans- Joachim Eckert after Blatter was charged with making a "disloyal payment" of 2 million Swiss frans (£1. 35m) to UEFA president Michel Platini in 2011

Platini, who was the early favourite to succeed Blatter, was also banned for eight years. Both men have vowed to fight the sanctions.

Sheikh Salman, head of the Asian Football Confederation, and Infantino, the general secretary of the Union of European Football Associations, are viewed as the frontrunners

Credit: Espnfc