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Caribbean won't enforce voting block for Sepp Blatter or other FIFA candidates

The Caribbean Football Union will not vote in a block for FIFA president Sepp Blatter or any other candidate, the organisation's leader says.

Blatter has always enjoyed support from the CFU's 25 football associations, but president Gordon Derrick said block voting is a thing of the past.

"Those days are long gone. If there is a democracy and we believe in a democracy then that means that everyone who is nominated has a chance to participate and whoever votes, votes, whichever way," he told Reuters on Wednesday.

The CFU makes up the largest porting of CONCACAF, whose 35 total members also include North and Central America.

The statement gives hope to Blatter's challengers -- former Portugal international Luis Figo, Dutch FA chief Michael van Praag and Jordan's Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein. The United States Soccer Federation has nominated Prince Ali.

Last week, Africa's 54 member nations pledged their unanimous support to Blatter.

Former CONCACAF president Jack Warner, who resigned in 2011 amid scandal, enforced block voting while he was in charge of the region, but Derrick said that will no longer occur.

"Because you didn't vote [my way] that doesn't mean you will be victimised, that's not a democracy," Derrick said. "Let's not make a farce.

"The Caribbean presidents will get together, casually, they will have read manifestos, discussed issues, we all think alike in a lot of ways so it is quite possible that whoever they decide to go with, it would be a majority of the islands. But there will be no mandate."

CONCACAF's annual congress is taking place in the Bahamas on Thursday, and Blatter gave a formal opening statement.

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