AFP, Miami :The battle for the top job in world football arrived in the United States on Thursday with FIFA presidential contenders hoping to secure crucial votes from the scandal-tainted governing body for soccer in the region.UEFA official Gianni Infantino and Asian chief Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa were both expected to be among the FIFA Presidential contenders giving presentations to members from CONCACAF, which governs football in North America, Central America and the Caribbean. Infantino, a key ally of banned former presidential hopeful Michel Platini, and Sheikh Salman, the influential head of the Asian Football Confederation are battling for the right to replace ousted former FIFA chief Sepp Blatter at elections later this month.Also in the running are Jordan’s Prince Ali bin al Hussein, South Africa’s Tokyo Sexwale and outsider Jerome Champagne. All five candidates were expected to make presentations to CONCACAF officials at a hotel in Miami from Thursday to Friday. It is not known whether the leadership of CONCACAF-holding a potentially pivotal 35 votes in the FIFA ballot-will call on its membership to endorse its preferred candidate.
