Has FIFA's presidential election all got too much for FA chairman Greg Dyke?
- Chairman Greg Dyke is part of Football Association delegation in Zurich
- Dyke pictured with his eyes closed as FIFA prepared to elect new leader
- Five candidates involved in vote, with the FA supporting Gianni Infantino
- See the latest FIFA news on the presidential election
The mechanics of FIFA's presidential election require plenty of concentration but has the whole process become a little too much for Football Association chairman Greg Dyke?
Dyke is in Zurich as part of the FA's delegation for Friday's vote, where 207 associations will nominate the successor to Sepp Blatter, and the former BBC director general looked pained as he listened to proceedings through headphones.
The charismatic chief of the English governing body has been an outspoken critic of FIFA in the past but the exhausting task of dealing with world football’s arbitrators might have taken its toll, as he opted to close his eyes for a short period during the Congress.
![Football Association chairman Greg Dyke is pictured ahead of the FIFA presidential election on Friday](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/02/26/12/3193E26000000578-0-image-a-56_1456489688472.jpg)
Football Association chairman Greg Dyke is pictured ahead of the FIFA presidential election on Friday
![Dyke had his eyes closed as he listened to proceedings through headphones at the event in Zurich](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/02/26/12/3193A2E000000578-0-image-a-57_1456489811593.jpg)
Dyke had his eyes closed as he listened to proceedings through headphones at the event in Zurich
![The FA are to back UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino when the vote for Sepp Blatter's successor starts](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/02/26/12/3193E58900000578-0-image-a-58_1456489813795.jpg)
The FA are to back UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino when the vote for Sepp Blatter's successor starts
![Dyke said: 'I spoke to every candidate either in person or on the phone. We were impressed by Gianni'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/02/26/12/3193E29700000578-0-image-a-59_1456489815815.jpg)
Dyke said: 'I spoke to every candidate either in person or on the phone. We were impressed by Gianni'
The 68-year-old could be forgiving for remaining sedate and engaging in some momentary shut-eye after the furore which erupted following the 2013 World Cup draw, when he was caught making a throat-slitting notion after England were handed group games against Italy, Uruguay and Costa Rica.
He defended himself at the time by telling Sky Sports News: 'It was a piece of humour. That's me.
'If you want a straight-laced suit, you can have a straight-laced suit. Or you can have someone like me.'
Dyke will later vote for Infantino, with the FA chairman emphasising prior to the meeting that wholesale reforms of FIFA are more important than the next leader.
Infantino is one of four candidates - along with Prince Ali bin al-Hussein, Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim al-Khalifa and Jerome Champagne - hoping to succeed Blatter. A fifth - Tokyo Sexwale - pulled out of the race prior to the vote on Friday.
'We decided that we would back Gianni Infantino,' Dyke told the FA's website.
'We did what we promised we would, I spoke to every candidate either in person or on the phone.
'We were impressed by Gianni.
'We were also impressed by Prince Ali, but in the end we decided to go with the UEFA candidate.'
Candidates will be whittled down from five to one, with the process potentially taking several hours depending on the number of voting rounds required.
For a winner to be established in the first round, one of the four would need to secure a two-thirds majority of the vote - or 137 out of the 207 available.
If the process goes into a second, third or fourth round, a simple majority of 104 would be needed. The candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated each time.
FIFA are in need of a new president after Blatter was banned for eight years - reduced to six on appeal - for financial malpractice relating to a substantial payment made to Michel Platini.
Platini, the former French international, previously expressed an intention to run for the presidency but was also issued with a lengthy ban by FIFA's ethics committee for his involvement in the same issue.
![The former BBC director general and the FA will cast their vote for Infantino in Friday afternoon's vote](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/02/26/12/3193593A00000578-0-image-a-60_1456489817773.jpg)
The former BBC director general and the FA will cast their vote for Infantino in Friday afternoon's vote
Most watched Sport videos
- Giants fans burn quarterback Daniel Jones' jersey after loss
- John Hunt makes a poignant return to the commentary box at Brighton
- Moment Miami Dolphin's Tyreek Hill is arrested by police
- Tyreek Hill speeds by police before cops aggressively pull him over
- Shocking bodycam of Tyreek Hill arrest released by Miami-Dade PD
- Woman exposes NRL boyfriend for leaving her for another
- Johnny Gaudreau's wife Meredith announces she is pregnant
- Awkward moment footy great can't pronounce NRL player's name
- Jason Kelce bares all with ex-Eagles teammate in revealing beer ad
- Ireland fans mock Queen's death aiming chants at England fans
- Sinner defeats home favourite Fritz to win the US Open title
- Las Vegas Raiders fan body slams a woman during brawl