News » tes up for grabs. Africa has 54 votes, Europe

FIFA will have a new president on February 26. Cyber Monday Ray Ban 2019 . After 18 years, Sepp Blatters 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 FIFAs 112-year history.The new president will be elected in a secret ballot of FIFAs 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 Jerome Champagne.Profile: Sheikh SalmanProfile: Tokyo SexwaleJEROME CHAMPAGNE:WHY IS HE STANDING?Like Prince Ali, Champagne has unfinished business at FIFA. He tried to stand in last Mays election, but he could not get the five letters of support he needed from member associations. This time, he received the letters and his self-funded campaign has been all about reforming FIFA and making football fairer for all.Champagne worked at FIFA for 11 years until he was fired by Sepp Blatter. Blatter had been put under pressure to act by the disgraced former president of the Asian Football Confederation Mohammed Bin Hammam. Champagne says he fell out with Bin Hammam while he was trying to clean up some of the confederations. WHAT ARE HIS CHANCES?He has no chance of winning, but he would argue his ideas have been an important part of the debate. At the start of the campaign, he predicted this would be an open election: This crisis is very severe. A lot of federations want someone with experience. I dont mind being an outsider. [Barack] Obama was an outsider, Pope Francis was an outsider, Francois Hollande was an outsider. That is life.Even though he is a rank outsider for the top job, Champagne may yet be involved in the next administration. He has the experience and appetite to be a secretary general.WHAT KIND OF PRESIDENT WILL HE BE?Champagne says he would do three things first if he won: kiss his wife, open a bottle of champagne and go out to celebrate. The next day he would set out to modernise FIFA.He says he would be a hands-on president. In what could be construed as a thinly-veiled dig at Sheikh Salman, Champagne said some of his opponents wanted to be the honorary president while he wanted to be the real president.Champagne knows his way around FIFA, having worked in Zurich as an adviser to Blatter and as the deputy secretary general and the director of international relations. Before FIFA he was a sports journalist, a French diplomat and the head of protocol at the 1998 World Cup in France. Champagne revealed he had differences with Mohammed bin Hammam WHAT STANDS OUT IN HIS MANIFESTO? It could be bad news for Europe if Champagne gets anywhere near the presidency. His proposals for re-allocating World Cup slots would lead to fewer places for Europe. At the moment Europes 53 countries get 13 World Cup places while Africas 54 countries get only five places.Champagne says we need a fairer system and he does not think the answer is to expand the World Cup from 32 to 40 teams.Less controversially, he wants to make FIFA more transparent, boost development programmes, raise the profile of womens football and introduce video technology to help referees. Champagne wants to double FIFA funding to the poorest 100 member associations, from £170,000 a year to £340,000 a year.He would also try to move the 2022 Qatar World Cup back from winter to May and June.WHAT DOES HE THINK OF SEPP BLATTER?There are no hard feelings, even though he was fired by Blatter. Champagne thinks Blatter is an honest man who has made bad management decisions: As far as we know he has not been accused of embezzlement. Im sure that history will judge him differently than the current news. No-one can argue that he has revolutionised the game.The two men are still in touch and Champagne phoned Blatter when the suspended president was released from hospital after a stress-related illness in November. Sepp Blatter sacked Champagne at FIFA but the pair are still on good terms WHO DOES HE BLAME FOR THE FIFA CRISIS?Champagne blames FIFAs problems on bad management and the greed of senior officials who wielded too much power with too little control.He worked at FIFA from 1999 to 2010 and he has never been accused of corruption or dishonesty: People in football know I am clean but I understand the scepticism. Theres a difference between smelling something and having the evidence.WHO DOES HE SUPPORT?St Etienne and Barcelona. He grew up supporting St Etienne but he is also a paying member of Barcelona.He says if he is elected he will remain a fan first: I want to tell English fans that I am one of them. If elected, my biggest concern is to keep feeling the pulse of the fans.Watch full coverage of the FIFA Presidential Election on February 26 on Sky Sports News HQ. Also See: Profile: Tokyo Sexwale Profile: Sheikh Salman FA to back Infantino Platini upbeat Blatter appeal to be heard Discount Ray Ban Aviator Sale . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. Cheap Ray Ban Sunglasses . LOUIS -- St. http://www.discountrayban.com/ . The Dane followed up his first European Tour title last weekend with eight birdies and just a single dropped shot on Thursday for a one-stroke advantage over South Africas Allan Versfeld and Portugals Ricardo Santos.(Sports Network) - The Toronto Blue Jays try to start their second half off on the right foot tonight when they begin a three-game set with the Tampa Bay Rays at Rogers Centre. Toronto has been a major disappointment this season and starts its second half four games under .500 at 45-49. "We know its not going to be easy, because the division is so tough," shortstop Jose Reyes said. "But if we play consistent baseball and take it one game at a time, I think well be fine. We need to turn it around right away, because after the All-Star break, the season is going to go quick." Despite an offseason that saw them acquire Reyes, reigning NL Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey, outfielder Melky Cabrera, righty Josh Johnson and left- hander Mark Buehrle among others, the Jays headed into the break trailing the Boston Red Sox by 11 1/2 games in the division and are 8 1/2 games back of the Rays in the wild card. On Friday, Toronto will hand the ball to righty Esmil Rogers, who is 3-4 with a 3.64 ERA. Rogers pitched well his last time out on July 10 in Cleveland, but did not get a decision, despite allowing just a run and four hits in six innings of a 5-4 win. Rogers lost to the Rays earlier in the year in his only other start against them. Toronto has split its 10 maatchups with the Rays this season. Cyber Monday Ray Ban 2019. Tampa won 17 of 21 before the break, while posting an MLB-best 2.03 ERA over that span. The Rays strong play over that time has vaulted them to the top of the AL wild card standings and has seen them cut their AL East deficit from seven to 2 1/2 games. A big key behind the Rays recent surge has been reigning AL Cy Young Award winner David Price, who, although he lost his last time out has won two of his last three starts. Price went the distance in a loss to Houston last Friday and gave up just two runs, but still fell to 3-5 on the year to go along with a 3.94 ERA. Remarkably, Price has thrown two straight complete games, allowing only three earned runs while striking out 18 in 25 innings since spending a month on the disabled list. "Theres never been a time in my life where Ive been that efficient," Price said. "Ive always really considered myself a power pitcher that wants to get strikeouts, and to be able to go deep in games, you have to forget about strikeouts. I still know I can strike people out. Ill take more innings than strikeouts any day." Overall, the Rays have had 15 consecutive quality starts. According to Elias, its the longest streak in MLB since the As had 18 in a row in 2010. ' ' '