The Bahraini royal is favourite to ascend to the governing body’s top role and is likely to be painted as the man who can wash absent the stains of corruptionWhen Sepp Blatter needed a secure pair of hands for the delicate task of moving the Qatar 2022 World Cup to winter,the Fifa president knew just where to turn. The Bahraini president of the Asian Football Confederation, Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa was appointed to head up a taskforce that, or in typical Fifa style,would work for months on end before reaching a preordained conclusion.
The softly spoken Bahraini royal is one of a number of increasingly influential figures from the region who bear floated almost unnoticed to positions of prominence. Now Sheikh Salman is favourite to ascend to the top role in world football amid an unprecedented swirl of crisis.
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Source: theguardian.com