Napout: New president not enough to solve FIFA crisis

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) - Electing a new president will not dig FIFA out of the worst crisis in its 111-year history, the head of South American football said on Saturday.

"I don't think that any candidate or situation can change everything," Juan Angel Napout, the president of CONMEBOL, said in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press.

Seven men are running to replace Sepp Blatter as FIFA president in an election on Feb. 26.

FIFA has been in constant turmoil since May, when American officials unsealed an indictment revealing decades of corruption linked to FIFA and its regional soccer bodies.

The indictments and arrests were followed days later by Blatter's resignation. He has since been suspended from his post pending an investigation by FIFA's ethics committee. Also suspended was Michel Platini, the president of UEFA, who was once seen as the favorite to succeed Blatter.

"The truth is that FIFA has no prestige," Napout said, adding that "clearly we know where we are."

He said he hoped the image could be changed by the confederations aiming for a single goal.

"I believe that all the confederations have to unite and work together for one football - that's called FIFA," he said.

The seven candidates standing for FIFA president are: Platini, Prince Ali bin al-Hussein, Gianni Infantino, Tokyo Sexwale, Musa Bility, Jerome Champagne, and Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa.

The reputation of CONMEBOL has been just as badly tarnished as that of FIFA.

Two former presidents - Nicolas Leoz of Paraguay and Eugenio Figueredo of Uruguay - were among football and sports marketing officials charged by authorities in the United States. Leoz is under house arrest in Paraguay, and Figueredo is in jail in Switzerland awaiting extradition to the U.S.

The 10-member CONMEBOL had been supporting Platini. Napout said the body would have to wait to see the result of the ethics investigation centered on Platini and Blatter before committing to a candidate.

Napout has met with Infantino, the general secretary of UEFA. Infantino is generally viewed as a stand-in for Platini.

CONMEBOL is expected to make a decision when it meets on Nov. 26-27 in Rio de Janeiro.

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Luis Andres Henao on Twitter: https://twitter.com/LuisAndresHenao