By Toby Prince
Nigeria’s hopes of producing the next FIFA president ended on Monday after her two hopefuls failed to make the final cut for the elections scheduled for February 2016.
The West African nation had two candidates vying to replace the suspended Sepp Blatter, ex-international Segun Odegbami and former Governor of Abia State, Dr Orji Uzor Kalu, who suffered contrasting fate on Monday.
Odegbami, a 1980 Africa Cup of Nations winner with the then Green Eagles, failed to secure the required backing of five national Football Associations before the October 26 deadline.
According to the requirement from the football body, each candidate standing for the position must be supported by a minimum of five member associations on or before Monday before nomination form can be submitted.
Despite late endorsement coming from the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), the 62-year-old was unable to secure the backing of four other member FA, a situation Odegbami finds hard to believe.
“I don’t want to say that the process was sabotaged from the word go but that’s the truth staring us in our faces,” he told SuperSports.
“At 2pm yesterday (Monday) I got an email requesting the nomination, sent to Fifa and copied to me.
“That’s the first document I needed to seek endorsement from other five countries, and I got that vital document at exactly 2pm.”
Unlike Odegbami, Orji Uzor Kalu stepped down from the race on Monday without any formal bid.
In a statement signed by his Adviser, Kunle Oyewumi, Kalu said, “I feel humbled and honoured with the widespread call for me to vie for the position of FIFA president.
“I sincerely appreciate the show of love and support demonstrated by African countries of endorsements despite my decision not to submit a bid,” he added.
Meanwhile, two other Africans successfully submitted their bids to run for February FIFA presidential election.
They are Liberia FA boss, Musa Bility and South African FIFA anti-racism committee member, Tokyo Sexwale.
The pair joined six other candidates to progress to the final stage of the screening.
Bility and Sexwale both received the backing of five member associations necessary to stand.
“I am a very happy man,” Bility told BBC Sport.
“If we are to change football, then we have to make sure that those that have been running Fifa for the last 20-25 years have nothing to do with it,” Bility added.
Other successful candidates from other parts of the world are embattled UEFA president, Michel Platini (France), FIFA executive member, Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein (Jordan), UEFA General Secretary, Gianni Infantino (Switzerland) and Jerome Champagne (France).
Shaikh Salman Bin Ebrahim (Bahrain) and former footballer-cum-administrator, David Nahkid (Trinidad and Tobago) complete the list.
All presidential candidates will have to pass integrity checks, carried out by the Electoral Committee, before being allowed to take part in the election set for 26 February.
