The election to select the next president of FIFA, world soccer’s governing body, is a month away. On Feb. 26, a special — the official word is extraordinary — congress of FIFA’s 209 member associations will be held in Zurich, and the successor to the now-suspended Sepp Blatter will be chosen. While some of the five official candidates have trumpeted commitments recently, plenty of speculation remains about voting support, back-room deals and campaigning tactics. Through interviews with federation officials and people connected to the candidates, all of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity, here is a look at the state of the race with a month to go:
It isn’t really a five-man competition.