GENEVA -- After declaring FIFAs image crisis over four months ago, questions are being raised about Gianni Infantino as he heads to world soccers next big election.The FIFA president will be a guest in Athens on Wednesday as his former UEFA colleagues vote to replace Michel Platini, who was ousted after the FIFA ethics committee banned him for taking a $2 million payment from Sepp Blatter.The favorite to become the next UEFA president is Aleksander Ceferin of Slovenia, who was so little known before the campaign that many wonder if Infantino and his staff have intervened to support him. Ceferin will be up against UEFA vice president Michael van Praag of the Netherlands, an outspoken critic of Blatter in recent years.I am neutral. The FIFA president is neutral in any election at confederation level, Infantino said. This is very clear.Infantino said his staff also has not acted, dismissing reports in Dutch and Scandinavian media that one of his FIFA advisers, who is from Norway, has lobbied for Ceferin. Van Praag reportedly sought a meeting in May in Milan to ask Infantino if he had chosen sides.Ceferins campaign for UEFA president emerged in May, soon after Infantino joined his former UEFA colleagues on a trip to Slovenia to open a national soccer center. Weeks later, FIFA appointed Tomaz Vesel as an independent auditor overseeing its billion-dollar annual income -- and Infantinos salary and bonuses. Vesel is also from Slovenia and plays on a veterans soccer team with Ceferin.Mark Pieth, a former FIFA reform adviser, said he was skeptical of claims that Infantino has changed the FIFA culture after years of scandal and murky decision-making.There is no `new FIFA, Pieth told The Associated Press. Its a bit of a variation on what we have been used to. Here, its blatant cronyism.UEFA is the richest and most influential of soccers six continental bodies. It organizes the Champions League, which showcases most of the worlds best players. The European Championship draws a global TV audience for the final that is more than double that of the Super Bowl.The next UEFA president will serve the final 2+ years of Platinis term. The winner also becomes a FIFA vice president, helps shape strategy in the FIFA Council, and supports Infantino in urgent rulings made by the confederation heads.Infantino came to power after a cycle of turmoil that started in May 2015 when American and Swiss federal authorities revealed an investigation into bribery and corruption. A generation of FIFA leaders were removed from office, including Blatter and one-time protege Platini.Van Praag, a former club president of four-time European champion Ajax, is an election veteran compared to Ceferin. He opposed Blatter for the FIFA presidency in 2015, defying a UEFA strategy to unseat the incumbent but struggled to get support from his colleagues. He withdrew days before the vote, leaving Prince Ali of Jordan as the sole challenger.Ceferin, a criminal lawyer, joined the board of Olimpija Ljubljana before being elected Slovenian soccer federation president in 2011. He later joined the FIFA disciplinary committee.The 48-year-old Ceferin is untainted by FIFAs past excesses, but his clear link to Vesel, the governing bodys new audit and compliance committee chairman, has caused concern.FIFA rules state the job of overseeing how it earns and spends its World Cup revenue can only go to a person with no material financial relationship to a member federation. It was done until May by Domenico Scala, a pharmaceutical industry executive who resigned amid disputes with Infantino, including a no-bonus rule for the president.Vesel, however, could within days be responsible for setting the FIFA salary of his teammate on the soccer team in the Slovene capital.Pieth, a compliance expert, said the Slovenia link was less camouflaged than in the Blatter era.There is a personal friendship, Pieth told the AP. Theres not a general rule against that kind of thing but its simple patronage. Its clear.Infantino dismissed such doubts when asked if the institutional independence of Vesel, Slovenias state auditor, could be compromised by his connection to Ceferin.Everyone plays football, everybody loves football, Infantino said last week. Its good that people (who) love football work in football as well.I just hope that the one who will be elected will work in a positive way with me as well, Infantino added. A strong FIFA needs a strong UEFA. 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A year away from golfs return to the Olympics after a 112-year absence, IOC President Thomas Bach said it would be good if the sport had a wide range of players from as many countries as possible competing for medals.And thats what it delivered -- 41 countries in the mens and womens competition -- an example of golfs global appeal.But the story of celebrated return has become more about whos not playing.Jordan Spieth will be watching from home, still wondering if he should have set aside his personal concerns and gone to Rio de Janeiro. Rory McIlroy said he wont be watching at all, citing the Zika virus and then taking a swipe at golf as an Olympic sport by saying he would watch the sports that matter.Of eligible players, 21 men said they would not be going, nearly half of them citing concerns about Zika.The women have carried the torch for golf, with only one player declining to go because of the mosquito-borne virus that has been linked to birth defects. Stacy Lewis has questioned whether the men make too much money to care about the Olympics.She is getting married in the fall, and hearing so many men cite Zika because they plan to start families caused her to probe deeper into the threat.I talked to a lot of different people and basically went into the conversation thinking in my head, `OK, give me a reason why I shouldnt go. And none of those people ever gave me a reason why I should not go, Lewis said.I want to be a part of the Olympics, she said. .I think the Olympics are bigger than any golf tournament on the planet. Its bigger than the Masters. Its bigger than the U.S. Open. Its bigger than the Womens Open. Its the biggest thing out there, and I want to be a part of that.None of the top four in mens golf will be part of the Rio Games. The men will have only eight of the top 20 in the world, including Masters champion Danny Willett of England and British Open champion Henrik Stenson of Sweden.The women will have nine of 10, only because South Korea has five players in the top 10 and countries only are allowed to send four.The mens competition is Aug. 11-14, followed by the women on Aug. 17-20. Regardless of who plays, medals will be distributed to a golfer for the first time since George Lyon of Canada won the gold in St. Louis against a 77-man field -- three Canadians, 74 Americans.The women did not play.THE FORMAT: The men and women will compete in medal play over 72 holes, justt like they do throughout the golf season.dddddddddddd The International Golf Federation has been criticized for not having a team format, which might have given some players motivation to attend. Ty Votaw, the vice presidents of the IGF, has said player support was imperative in golfs bid to get back in the Olympics, and most of them wanted a 72-hole format.THE COURSE: For the longest time, the biggest headache in golfs return to the Olympics was getting the golf course built. American golf architect Gil Hanse was selected to design Olympic Golf Course in Barra da Tijuca, and it was delayed because of politics and environmental lawsuits. A test event was not held until March and involved nine Brazilian players. The course could be the star of the Olympics. It is to become Rios only public course when the Olympics are over to help grow the sport.MALE FAVORITE: Stenson is the highest-ranked player at No. 5 and coming off arguably the greatest final round in a major when he won The Open at Royal Troon. He would be considered a favorite for the mens gold along with two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson, Sergio Garcia of Spain, Rickie Fowler and Justin Rose. Andy Murray won a gold medal in tennis before he won a Grand Slam event, and that could be a strong possibility in golf. Garcia, Fowler, Patrick Reed and Matt Kuchar are among the highest-ranked players to have never won a major.FEMALE FAVORITE: Womens golf doesnt have as much depth as the men, and there are fewer surprises in the big events. While the Koreans have strength in numbers, the favorites start with Lydia Ko of New Zealand and Brooke Henderson of Canada, a pair of teenagers who are No. 1 and No. 2 in the world, and who won the first two majors in the LPGA season. Lexi Thompson is the highest-ranked American and a major champion. Lewis is the most accomplished American, though she is going on two years without a victory.THE FUTURE: The biggest competition might be a year after the Olympics, when the IOC votes which events will be part of the Tokyo Games, and whether golf remains part of the Olympic program beyond 2020. Golfs future has taken a big hit with so many male stars pulling out, and the IGF has said it hopes the IOC will consider the myriad problems in Brazil in assessing the withdrawals. ' ' '