Torture claims hit Sheikh Salman's bid for Fifa presidency

Fifa presidential candidate Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa has denied claims he was involved in the torture of footballers as the world-governing body on Tuesday started validating nomination papers of contenders to succeed Sepp Blatter.

Salman was one of eight hopefuls to come forward before the deadline for candidates wishing to stand in the February 26 election passed at midnight on Monday.

Another leading contender, 62-year-old South African anti-apartheid campaigner Tokyo Sexwale, launched his campaign on Tuesday as he promised to bring "transparency and accountability" to Fifa.

Sexwale and the Bahraini royal, the head of the Asian Football Confederation, confirmed their bids on Monday as Uefa general secretary Gianni Infantino also entered the running to blow the race wide open.

The others are: Uefa president Michel Platini, who is serving a 90-day ban over a US$2 million payment received from Fifa in 2011 ; Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan; former Fifa official Jerome Champagne; Liberian soccer official Musa Bility and David Nakhid, a former player from Trinidad and Tobago.

Contenders had to be nominated by at least five national associations and show an active role in soccer in two of the last five years. Candidates will also face ethics checks.

Ethics prosecutor Cornel Borbely will oversee the integrity checks and then send the files to an ad-hoc election committee chaired by Domenico Scala, who will declare the official candidate list next month.