The seemingly eternal Joseph Blatter had initially planned to preside over FIFA for a fifth term until 2019, then after deciding to make way at least wanted to conduct the congress where his successor would be elected. But now there will be no send off. In the end not even Joseph Blatter's final ambition became reality - conducting the FIFA congress where his successor as president of the ruling football body will be elected today.His last trip to the FIFA headquarters where he had worked for more than four decades overall and as president since 1998, came last week for a hearing before the FIFA appeals committee, which on Wednesday reduced his ban from eight to six years but did not clear him.The bans against Blatter, FIFA president for 17 years, and UEFA President Michel Platini were reduced from eight years to six by the appeal committee. Both were found guilty of conflicts of interest when Blatter approved a $2 million payment to Platini in 2011 for consultancy work done without a contract a decade earlier.An election meeting designed to give FIFA a fresh start with a new leader could yet be overshadowed by its criminally corrupt past. Voters return to Zurich this week unsure who is the next target of federal law enforcement agencies in the United States and Switzerland, who have sent FIFA into meltdown with waves of arrests, extraditions and guilty pleas. Many soccer officials are making possibly their last working trip to Switzerland until May 2019, when the next scheduled FIFA election should be held in Zurich.At the last election in May, Blatter won a fifth presidential term two days after FIFA's favored five-star hotel in Zurich and its own headquarters were raided. The pressure of criminal investigations soon forced Blatter from his beloved FIFA in his 41st year on the payroll.Now, leaders of FIFA's 209 member federations visit the tiny Swiss city again to elect a successor for the now-banned 79-year-old who has been president since 1998. The winner will be just the fourth elected FIFA chief in more than 50 years.Two front-runners have emerged in a five-candidate contest: Asia's football leader, Sheikh Salman of Bahrain, and Gianni Infantino, the Swiss general secretary of European governing body UEFA.The other candidates are: Former FIFA vice president Prince Ali of Jordan, who lost to Blatter in May; former FIFA official Jerome Champagne of France; and South African businessman Tokyo Sexwale, once an inmate of Robben Island prison with Nelson Mandela. Infantino acknowledged that police could hit FIFA for the fourth time in nine months.The three previous strikes arresting seven men, including two FIFA vice presidents, on May 27; interrogating Blatter and former protege Michel Platini on Sept. 25; arresting two more FIFA vice presidents on Dec. 3 were on days that FIFA's discredited executive committee met.So, today, the 209 members can also vote through wide-ranging reforms to restructure FIFA. These would dilute the president's authority, empower FIFA's staff and increase oversight by independent experts.Here are the FIFA hopefulsSHEIKH SALMANThe Bahraini royal, who leads the Asian Football Confederation, was quick to endorse Michel Platini for the FIFA presidency last July and had never spoken of ambitions to run the global game. Now he is the favorite. The 50-year-old Salman pledges to take the same approach to the FIFA presidency, shunning the limelight craved by Blatter and delegating power to specialists.GIANNI INFANTINOLike Salman, Infantino's campaign was only conceived following Platini's disgrace. Once the UEFA president was suspended, European federations sought a candidate and turned to Platini's top administrator. As UEFA general secretary, the 45-year-old Infantino is the most globally recognized of the candidates due to his role presiding over draws for European competitions.PRINCE ALIThe Jordanian federation president denied Blatter a first-round victory in last May's head-to-head election before standing aside for the incumbent. But Ali's 73 votes were mostly gathered from European federations who now back Infantino. The 40-year-old Ali has been playing catch-up on the campaign trail, relying on regular media appearances to maintain his relevance while unable to flaunt endorsements.JEROME CHAMPAGNEChampagne spent the first decade of the century at FIFA, working as deputy secretary general and international relations director before being forced out in 2010. Although vocal from the outside since then about the need to rebalance the power in world soccer while championing smaller and emerging federations, Champagne has still appeared to be a Blatter loyalist.TOKYO SEXWALEThe 62-year-old South African had the credentials to be a powerful voice in the campaign. A former Robben Island prisoner and anti-apartheid activist, Sexwale's profile had grown leading FIFA's attempts to resolve differences between Israeli and Palestinian soccer leaders. Scant discussion of Sexwale's candidacy has been dominated by speculation about when he would withdraw. It's yet to happen.THE VOTEKuwait and Indonesia face being banned from having a say in the FIFA election due to government interference in the federations' independence. That would leave 207 voters. A two-thirds majority of 138 is required to win in a first round of voting. If that target is not met, a simple majority of over 50 percent 104 is necessary from the second round.Main reforms to be voted on by FIFA CongressFIFA, is expected to pass wide-ranging reforms at a Congress in Zurich today, when a new president will also be elected. The main reform proposals, which need the approval of three-quarters of the 207 voting national soccer associations, will be incorporated into a new set of FIFA Statutes and come into force on April 26. Kuwait and Indonesia are suspended and cannot vote. Following is a summary of the main proposals:SEPARATION OF POWERS- FIFA's 24-member Executive Committee is to be abolished and replaced by a 36-member FIFA Council and a General Secretariat, separating FIFA's political functions from day-to-day management.- The new FIFA Council, elected by member associations, will be responsible for setting FIFA's overall strategic direction.- The new General Secretariat, intended to be staffed by professionals and akin to a corporate executive board, will handle the operational and commercial management of that strategy.TRANSPARENCY- The new president will head the Council in a more ambassadorial role, albeit with non-executive powers.- The president's salary and that of all senior FIFA officers will be made public.- A FIFA Review Committee will conduct enhanced integrity checks on all candidates before they are allowed to stand for election to the Council.- The Finance, Development and Governance Committees reporting to the Council will have a minimum number of independent members from outside soccer.- All decisions taken by the Council, the General Secretariat and the Finance, Development and Governance Committees must be audited and approved by the fully independent Audit and Compliance Committee.TERM LIMITS- No senior elected official will be allowed to serve more than three terms of four years. Blatter was president for more than 17 years, while his predecessor Joao Havelange was president for 24 years and, once in office, was never opposed in another election.- The term limits also apply to all members of the FIFA Council, the Audit and Compliance Committee and FIFA's judicial bodies.DIVERSITY- The promotion of women will become a primary FIFA objective. Six women will sit on the FIFA Council, one from each regional confederation.- FIFA will reduce the number of its standing committees from 26 to nine, with increased participation of the wider football community.- A Football Stakeholders' Committee will be created to represent players, clubs and leagues, which have until now had only limited representation in FIFA.- A new article will commit FIFA to respect all internationally recognized human rights and strive to promote and protect them.