FIFA election: How the vote works

FIFA’s national federations will gather at its Extraordinary Congress in Zurich on Friday to elect the new president of world football’s governing body.

Front-runners Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa and Gianni Infantino, along with Prince Ali bin al-Hussein, Jerome Champagne and Tokyo Sexwale are the men in contention to replace Sepp Blatter.

Each federation gets a single vote, to be cast in a secret ballot, and a candidate must secure two-thirds of the overall vote in the first round to be declared as the winner.

There are expected to be 207 votes up for grabs, with Kuwait and Indonesia currently barred from taking part due to breaching FIFA rules on government interference within national football bodies.

On Wednesday, FIFA’s Executive Committee recommended the Extraordinary Congress should decide to deal with both suspensions at May’s ordinary Congress in Mexico when it reviews Kuwait and Indonesia’s status before Friday’s vote.

In the event of a 207-nation vote, 138 is the magic number for candidates targeting a first-round victory.

If a two-thirds majority is not achieved in round one, a second round of voting will begin where a simple majority is needed to win – 104 backers if Kuwait and Indonesia remain suspended.

Should this prove elusive, the candidate with the fewest votes will drop out before a third round, with the process continuing in this fashion until one man has a simple majority.