IT LOOKS like Sepp Blatter will have plenty of competition when May’s FIFA presidential election takes place.

The deadline for nominations was yesterday, and it seems that as many as five other people, including two former footballers, could stand against the man who has been president for the past 17 years.

That in itself is progress. Blatter has won the vote by default at the start of his previous two terms, so at least in some ways, FIFA can be said to be moving forward.

How qualified the people running against Blatter are to take on such a role remains up for debate. David Ginola and Luis Figo, the two former players who have put themselves forward, have no background in football administration.

The other three, Frenchman Jerome Champagne, Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein of Jordan and Dutchman Michael Van Praag, are probably more serious contenders.

Champagne served as deputy secretary general under Blatter, which is both a blessing and a curse, Prince Ali is one of the most powerful men in Asian football and Van Praag is the current chairman of the Dutch FA.

Van Praag looks the best candidate to me, but I would suggest that having more than one opponent would favour the incumbent, splitting the anti-Blatter vote. Everyone who wants Blatter out really needs to get together before the vote and choose a candidate to back.

Unfortunately, that’s rather unlikely to happen, and even if it did, Blatter probably retains enough support across the developing world to win the vote and keep his position.

If that happens, it will be time for somebody to take a stand.

FIFA is a laughing stock in the major European footballing countries, yet they remain saddled with a president that they cannot get rid of, because of the ‘influence’ Blatter has over most of the world’s governing bodies.

The debacle over Michael Garcia’s report into corruption in the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups was the final straw for me, with Garcia himself attempting to take legal action against the organisation’s summary. It’s a mess, and if Blatter is re-elected, action has to be taken.

I’m pretty sure that FIFA would struggle to survive without the likes of England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. If they all threatened to withdraw from the organisation, Blatter would have no option but to step down.

However, I don’t doubt for a second that Blatter would attempt to call their bluff, so they would have to be willing to actually leave FIFA and set up an alternative organisation.

Do they have the stones to do that? I’m not too sure.

Basingstoke Gazette:

STICKING with sports administration, I would like to go on record wishing Richard Fitzpatrick the very best in his new role as Basingstoke RFC’s chairman.

The last few months have been pretty terrible at Down Grange, and more hard times may lie ahead, so it’s important that Richard succeeds in his stated aim of unifying the club.

I have known Richard for a while, and having spoken to him for this week’s paper, an article that will go online next week, I’m hopeful that he can turn things around.

It’s not a job that he has coveted, but he clearly has the club at heart and seems to have the backing of most members. There’s a lot of work to do and some hard decisions to make, but I believe that the club is in good hands.

Basingstoke Gazette:

GUINEA reached the quarter-finals of the African Cup of Nations in strange circumstances yesterday.

After both they and Mali sides drew all three of their games, ending the group stage with identical records, the place in the last eight was decided by the drawing of lots. Guinea won and go through, while Mali are on their way home.

Surely, there’s a better way to decide things. Penalty shoot-outs are far from ideal, but it beats drawing lots. Surely one could have been organised to separate the teams?