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South African Fifa presidential candidate Tokyo Sexwale will host two of his election rivals, Gianni Infantino and Sheikh Salman Bin Ibrahim al-Khalifa, at Robben Island today.
He will take them on a tour of the once-infamous island that is now a popular tourist attraction, declared a national heritage site.
A source close to Sexwale said on Saturday: “They want to see for themselves how the Makana Football Association that was given an honorary Fifa membership ran things.”
The source said Sexwale had invited all four fellow candidates, but Frenchman Jérôme Champagne and Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan were not able to accept the offer due to other engagements.
“Champagne indicated that he might join the press conference that will follow the tour and presentation in Cape Town via Skype,” said the source.
Infantino and the sheikh have emerged as the frontrunners for the elections taking place this Friday.
The position became vacant when Sepp Blatter stepped down as president last year following enormous pressure emanating from numerous accusations of corruption.
He and former Union of European Football Associations (Uefa) president Michel Platini have since been handed eight-year bans each.
They appeared before the Fifa appeals committee this week to protest their punishment.
The source refused to elaborate about Monday’s gathering of the trio, but the chances of a deal being brokered among them cannot be ruled out.
The Confederation of African Football, which has 54 members, has thrown in its lot with the sheikh, while Uefa, with 53 members, is backing Infantino, the organisation’s general secretary.
