Zurich prepares to vote in new FIFA president

Organisers in Zurich are making preparations for FIFA’s Congress which begins on Friday (February 26) at the city’s Hallenstadion.

Delegates will debate and vote on a wide-ranging schedule of reforms to soccer’s world governing body, and a new president will also be elected.

The organisation has made global headlines since last May, when authorities arrested FIFA officials and others in Zurich on corruption charges. A number of them were roused by police in early morning raids at the Baur au Lac hotel in the city where FIFA officials have traditionally stayed, and many are expected to stay there again for this congress meeting.

In December the former president of FIFA, Sepp Blatter, has been banned from the sport for eight years for ethics violations, along with European soccer chief Michel Platini.

The main reform proposals, which need the approval of three-quarters of the 207 voting national soccer associations, will be incorporated into a new set of FIFA Statutes and come into force on April 26.

Kuwait and Indonesia are suspended and cannot vote.