After meeting with all five candidates in Zurich, U.S. Soccer revealed its endorsement for Friday’s FIFA presidential election.
Federation president Sunil Gulati announced U.S. Soccer would vote for Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein of Jordan on Thursday, and the presidential nominee subsequently expressed his thanks for the public endorsement.
.@ussoccer will vote for @AliForFIFA for President of #FIFA
— Sunil Gulati (@sunilgulati) February 25, 2016
I am proud to receive the support of @ussoccer, joining my vision for a new, transparent, fair and honest #FIFA that puts football first.
— Ali Al Hussein (@AliBinAlHussein) February 25, 2016
Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa and Gianni Infantino are considered the two frontrunners in Friday’s election. Tokyo Sexwale and Jerome Champagne are the two other candidates in the running to formally replace Sepp Blatter.
Each member association, excluding currently-suspended Kuwait and Indonesia, will cast their vote. There will likely be more than one round of voting, as a two-thirds majority is needed in order to win the first ballot. In the subsequent rounds, only a simple majority is needed.
FIFA.com and FIFA’s YouTube channel will begin broadcasting election coverage at 2 a.m. on Friday, while ESPN and Univision Deportes will start covering the election at 7 a.m.
What do you think of U.S. Soccer’s decision? Who would you vote for?
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