FIFA will be electing its ninth president in more than a century of existence after Sepp Blatter, who held the post for 17 years and was re-elected to the position for the fifth time last week, resigned from office on Tuesday.
With FIFA in a major transitional period following a US Justice Department indictment of nine top officials on corruption charges, Blatter's replacement will be of ultimate importance for international soccer.
During his resignation press conference, Blatter said he will "call an extraordinary congress" to find his replacement. It will be "held as soon as possible" with Blatter remaining in power until that date, but it is not likely to occur anytime soon.
Travel and other logistics will need to be arranged for the more than 1,700 voting members of the FIFA congress to arrive in Zurich, Switzerland, despite all necessary parties being in the city last Friday. The earliest one could be held is in four months, according to FIFA rules, though it may take longer.
"The expectation is that this could take place any time from December of this year to March of next year," said Domenico Scala, the chairman of FIFA's audit and compliance committee.
When the FIFA congress eventually convenes, its members may very well be choosing between two or more of these men (odds via Bovada.lv):
Ali Bin Al-Hussein (Jordan), FIFA Vice President (Asia): 3-2
Prince Ali, the son of the King of Jordan, was Blatter's sole opponent in Friday's FIFA presidential election; he lost the first vote 133-73 and conceded the election despite Blatter not receiving the majority he needed. A reformist candidate, Prince Ali promised only to serve one term as FIFA president and wanted to greatly increase transparency within the organization, especially following the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids. Though soft-spoken, he is seen by most to be a trustworthy figure that would help restore order to FIFA. In addition to serving as the vice president of FIFA in Asia since 2010, Prince Ali is the president of the Jordan Football Association and founder/president of the West Asian Football Federation.
Michel Platini (France), UEFA President: 3-2
Platini is a former elite French footballer who starred for the French national team and European giant Juventus, in addition to Saint-Etienne and Nancy of his native France. He also managed the French national team from 1988-92. As an administrator, he helped to co-organize the 1998 World Cup in France, served as vice president of the French Football Federation and held a role as chairman of the FIFA Technical and Development Committee. He was named president of UEFA in 2007.
Luis Figo (Portugal), retired footballer: 6-1
A football superstar for his native Portugal, Figo also starred for some of the world's biggest clubs in Barcelona, Real Madrid and Inter Milan. He has no real administrative experience but did stage a campaign to oppose Blatter as FIFA president for over a year before resigning just prior to the election in order to lend his support to Prince Ali.
Ted Howard (United States), CONCACAF Deputy General Secretary: 12-1
A former college soccer player and coach, Howard served as the executive director of the North American Soccer League (NASL) in the US and also worked as an NBA director. A member of the US Soccer Hall of Fame, Howard replaced ousted Chuck Blazer as head of CONCACAF (general secretary) in 2012 before taking a backseat to deputy general secretary once a vote was held for Blazer's full-time replacement.
Senes Erzik (Turkey), UEFA Vice President: 12-1
A board member turned president of the Turkish Football Federation, Erzik has worked in UEFA since 1990. He was named vice president of UEFA in 1994 and has also held a role on the FIFA Executive Committee since 1996.
Issa Hayatou (Cameroon), CAF President: 14-1
Haytou is a sports executive and former athlete from Cameroon. He has served as CAF president since 1998. Haytou attempted to run for president of FIFA in 2002 but lost out to Blatter. Haytou is also an International Olympic Committee (IOC) member.
Michael van Praag (Amsterdam), UEFA executive committee member: 16-1
Former chairman of AFC Ajax, a famous Dutch football club, van Praag comes from a famous football family and now serves as a member of UEFA's executive committee. He currently serves as the chairman of UEFA's competition committee. van Praag planned to run against Blatter for the FIFA presidency, citing a need to reform the entire organization. He withdrew a week before the elections were held.
David Ginola (France), retired footballer: 33-1
A former footballer who has played for well-known clubs such as Paris Saint-Germain, Newcastle United, Tottenham, Aston Villa and Everton and was named Player of the Year both in France and England, Ginola retired from the game in 2002 and continued his career as a television personality. He was a one-time candidate for the FIFA presidency but withdrew his bid after two weeks; Ginola did not receive enough support to continue with the process.
Jerome Champagne, former FIFA executive: 50-1
A former French diplomat who became an international soccer consultant, Champagne served as a diplomatic advisor and Chief of Protocol for the organizing committee of the 1998 World Cup in France. He was a FIFA executive from 1999 to 2010 and became an adviser to the Palestinian Football Association, Palestine Olympic Committee, the Cyprus Turkish Football Federation, the Football Federation of Kosovo and a club team in Congo.
Greg Dyke (United Kingdom), FA Chairman: 100-1
Dyke is the chairman of the English Football Association, which oversees the Premier League. He is a media executive who has had a distinguished career in England as a journalist. From 2006-13, Dyke held a role as a non-executive chairman of Brentford Football Club, a lower division club in England.
CBSSports.com's Sergio Gonzalez contributed to this story.
