Sexwale to seek CAF support to revive FIFA presidential bid

Tokyo Sexwale, who is Africa’s only contender for FIFA presidency, will seek continent-wide support in a final bid to revive his ailing election campaign at a meeting of African football leaders on Friday.

Tokyo Sexwale to seek CAF support to revive FIFA presidential bid https://t.co/PI4ahvmE0A pic.twitter.com/Z7WESsLDQy

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Sexwale, who was grilled on Tuesday by officials from the South African Football Association (SAFA) due to his lackluster campaign, said he is still in the race to vie for presidency in the world’s governing football body.

SAFA president, Danny Jordaan, called Sexwale’s report to them “comprehensive” but said they would only comment further after a meeting of officials of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in Kigali, Rwanda, on Friday.

The meeting will be Sexwale’s final opportunity to win support before FIFA’s February 26 election.

Failure to land an endorsement from African football’s governing body is likely to stall Sexwale’s bid in its tracks.

The former political prisoner who was jailed alongside iconic leader Nelson Mandela and served as Premier of Gauteng province and later as a cabinet minister in South Africa, is also a business mogul who has had a successful run in mining and other businesses.

Yet, he remains an outsider in the five-man race to become football’s global leader.

Sexwale will face UEFA secretary general Gianni Infantino, Asian Football Confederation president Sheikh Salman Al Khalifa, former FIFA vice president Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein and former French diplomat, Jerome Champagne.