FIFA Forum at European Parliament To Be Broadcast Live

(ATR) ESPN will broadcast next week’s Brussels forum on the future of FIFA featuring three presidential candidates.

Prince Ali, Jerome Champagne and Tokyo Sexwale are taking part in the forum organized by the European Parliament and #NewFIFANow on Jan. 27. It will be moderated by ESPN's Fernando Palomo and journalist and author, John Carlin.

Live coverage on ESPN platforms will start at 1500 CET.

The FIFA presidential candidates are invited to present their FIFA manifesto pledges and respond to questions from MEPs.

Two FIFA presidential contenders, Shaikh Salman and Gianni Infantino, are unable to attend. The Asian football boss has commitments with the AFC, while the UEFA general secretary will be on the campaign trail in South America.

"Football belongs to people, not just the 209 men and women who make up the FIFA Congress," said #NewFIFANow co-founder, Damian Collins MP. "We see this opportunity to hear from the candidates as an important step in greater democracy, transparency and accountability."

On Friday, Prince Ali, campaigning in New Zealand, voiced confidence that he will be elected to replace Sepp Blatter in the Feb. 26 election in Zurich if there are no dirty tricks.

After losing out to Blatter in last May’s ballot, the former FIFA ExCo member from Jordan said, according to AFP: "I can tell you from my side that I'm fully confident I will win this if things are conducted properly.

"I think around the [footballing] world that a weight has been taken off people's shoulders, they want to be proud of being part of this organization again. Without going into specifics, I'm building on what I had the last time around."

Written by Mark Bisson

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