In a blow to his campaign for FIFA president, Mohamed Bin Hammam was denied a visa to the US on Monday to attend a key conference in Miami, according to sports website Inside World Football.

In a post on his blog, the Asian Football Confederation president said, “I had hoped to be present to share my plans for the future in Miami but unfortunately I will not be able to attend due to issues beyond my control.”

Inside World Football reports:

Bin Hammam’s non-appearance in Miami, where he was hoping to present his vision for the future of FIFA, will give Blatter a free run in the lobbying stakes and could theoretically seriously weaken his chances of unseating the 75-year-old Swiss in Zurich on June 1.

Insideworldfootball has also learned that instead of addressing CONCACEF, bin Hammam has swiftly arranged a special meeting with members of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU), scheduled for Trinidad some time later this month.

Reuters reports that CONCACAF tends to vote as a block in FIFA elections and general secretary, American Chuck Blazer said he hoped they would do so again. 

Blazer is no fan of Qatar’s bid for 2022 and has criticized it in the past. Ultimately, this is a tough break for Hammam.

What do you guys think? Can he recover from this missed chance to schmooze with voters?