Fifa election 2016: Presidential candidate Sheikh Salman accused of using football development funds on 2009 campaign
Fifa presidential candidate Sheikh Salman has been accused of using Fifa development funds on a previous election campaign in 2009.
The frontrunner to replace Sepp Blatter as head of football's governing body, whose campaign has been rocked by allegations of being complicit in human rights abuses, now faces accusations of using money earmarked for infrastructure and youth football on his own bid to become president.
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A parliamentary petition delivered to the house of commons by Conservative MP Damian Collins raises the accusations against Sheikh Salman made in the Saudi newspaper Al Bilad, which claims to have received a leaked letter which shows the Bahraini royal spent upwards of £1.6m on his campaign with money from Fifa-financed development projects.
Collins is requesting that the government confirm it won't support bids from the English FA to host Fifa tournaments should Sheikh Salman win Friday's election.
The petition requests that "the House of Commons urges the Government to confirm that it would not support bids from the English Football Association to host Fifa tournaments should Sheikh Salman be elected as President of Fifa on Friday 26 February 2016."