Asia central to picking next FIFA president

Once a soccer minnow, the Middle East has emerged as one of the sport's most powerful blocs during Sepp Blatter's 17-year reign at FIFA and is likely to have a big say in who will replace the 79-year-old Swiss, who is stepping down amid a deepening corruption scandal at the organization.

The Middle East holds power at the 46-member Asian Football Confederation, the third largest of FIFA's six regional bodies but boasting the biggest and fastest growing population, a dream ticket for FIFA's major sponsors.

The region also boasts an abundance of sponsors willing to plough money into the sport, with Qatari finance behind European giants Barcelona and Paris St. Germain, while the emergence of BeIn Sports in the TV rights market has helped the money flow in many other leagues.