FIFA challenge lapses
Sydney Morning Herald
Friday April 1, 2011
Football. Australia‚„s reluctance to back Chilean Elias Figueroa‚„s reform platform has contributed to his decision not to nominate for the presidency of FIFA. Figueroa, 62, had been identified by a social media lobby group, Change FIFA, as the best candidate to make a three-horse race of the contest between incumbent Sepp Blatter and challenger Mohammad Bin Hamman, which will be decided by FIFA‚„s 208 voting nations next month. But while the three-time South AmericanPlayer of the Year had been willing to mount a challenge, the failure of Change FIFA to find an association prepared to nominate him before today‚„s deadline forced his withdrawal. The group had approached the national associations of England, Australia, NZ, Chile and Andorra to provide the crucial nomination without luck.
© 2011 Sydney Morning Herald
