FIFA confirm four candidates to stand for president

Former Portuguese international and Inter Milan player Luis Figo speaks during a news conference in Zayed sport city in Abu Dhabi in this December 17, 2010 file photo. Figo said on Wednesday he wanted to stand for the FIFA presidency and had the five nominations needed. FIFA President Sepp Blatter, Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein of Jordan, former FIFA official Jerome Champagne of France, ex-France international David Ginola and Dutch FA president Michael van Praag have also said they are running. [Photo/Agencies]

ZURICH - FIFA have confirmed that incumbent Sepp Blatter, former Portugal forward Luis Figo, Dutch FA president Michael van Praag and Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein of Jordan have bid to stand for president.

Soccer's governing body said in a statement that the four would be subject to integrity checks carried out by FIFA's ethics committee before they could be formally declared as candidates.

"Upon receipt of the results of the integrity checks, the Ad-hoc Electoral Committee will reconvene in order to review all of the submissions and validate their compliance with the applicable FIFA regulatory provisions," said FIFA in a statement.

"Following this process, the Ad-hoc Electoral Committee will formally admit and declare the candidates who are eligible for the office of FIFA President."

Blatter, 78, is standing for a fifth mandate, having been in power since 1998 and is widely expected to win the vote in Zurich on May 29.

He is expected to sweep up most of the votes from Asia, Africa and South America. UEFA, which has 53 of the 209 votes, has not yet publicly declared which candidate it will support.

Frenchman Jerome Champagne said earlier on Monday that he had not received backing from five national associations, as required under the rules, and would not be able to stand.