The Americas look to reassert their influence within FIFA
ZURICH, Switzerland (AP) - Struggling for money and reeling from successive scandals, two groups of newly appointed leaders of American football have travelled to Switzerland in the hope of reviving their once important influence on the sport's governing body, FIFA.
To achieve that, some just want to be on the winning side in Friday's vote for a new FIFA president.
Delegations from the Miami-based Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) and the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) based in Asuncion, Paraguay, have flown in to participate in FIFA's congress.
Their aim is not only to take part in the election of a new president to replace Joseph Blatter, but also to emphasize their weight in the sport by backing the eventual winner.
"Our minds aren't totally made up yet, but we would like to present a united front in order to have more power afterward", said Paraguayan federation President Ramon Gonzalez. "Hopefully, we'll all back the winning candidate."
The American continents have traditionally held great weight in FIFA, which in turn has placed eight World Cup competitions in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, the USA and Uruguay.
However, the new delegates are aware there is a need for financial probity and transparency after scandals swept over soccer and led to the arrest of seven American regional soccer representatives including the Uruguayan Eugenio Figueredo and the Cayman Islands' Jeffrey Webb, both former FIFA vice-presidents.
"Obviously we have to get our house in order," said Victor Montagliani, Canadian soccer association president and one of the candidates for the presidency of CONCACAF.
The delegates feel a need to free the region of the shadow cast over the game by previous leaders such as Julio Grondona.
Known as "the Godfather," he was president of Argentina's football association and then FIFA vice-president - giving continuity to a weighty South American presence that Brazil's Joao Havelange had begun exerting over the game.
"We are not in hock to anyone," said Gonzalez.
Another reason for attending FIFA's congress is to press for new funding. After the scandal broke, FIFA stopped payments to CONMEBOL and CONCACAF and its new delegates aim to lobby for a reversal of that decision, which cost a total of $20 million.
"South America has a need for everything, like any other part of the world, most especially within the infrastructure of the most lowly clubs' stadiums," said Gonzalez.