(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) The 39-year-old Prince Ali declared his intention Tuesday to run as a candidate in the FIFA presidential election on May 29 in Zurich.
Geneva — FIFA vice president Prince Ali bin Al Hussein of Jordan will stand for election in a bid to oust Sepp Blatter as leader of football’s scandal-hit world governing body.
The 39-year-old Prince Ali declared his intention Tuesday to run as a candidate in the FIFA presidential election on May 29 in Zurich where Blatter has pledged to seek a fifth mandate at age 79.
“This was not an easy decision” the prince said in a single-page statement in which he pledged to run a positive campaign and did not specifically mention Blatter. “It came after careful consideration and many discussions with respected FIFA colleagues over the last few months.”
“The message I heard over and over was that it is time for a change” said Prince Ali who has been encouraged to run by European football governing body UEFA and its President Michel Platini.
During Blatter’s 17-year leadership FIFA has been rocked by bribery allegations in presidential and World Cup hosting elections kickbacks paid to senior officials and World Cup ticket scams.
FIFA’s image sank further last month when ethics prosecutor Michael Garcia resigned with a parting shot at Blatter’s leadership style and the organization’s seeming unwillingness to reform itself.
Prince Ali said in his statement Tuesday that “it is time to shift the focus away from administrative controversy and back to sport.”
“The world’s game deserves a world-class governing body — an international federation that is a service organization and a model of ethics transparency and good governance” said Prince Ali who joined FIFA’s executive committee on the day of Blatter’s most recent re-election in June 2011.
Blatter has survived by avoiding personal scandal and deft political mastery of an often secretive organization he joined in 1975. The veteran Swiss official has said his mission to lead world football is unfinished.
FIFA member federations — which elect the president in a secret ballot — have also shown little desire to remove Blatter as they receive increasing shares of billion-dollar annual income from commercial deals tied to the world’s most-watched sports event.
Prince Ali did not specify which five of FIFA’s 209 members will nominate him for the presidency as required before a January 29 deadline. He was expected to travel to Australia for the Asian Cup which kicks off Friday and an Asian Football Confederation congress in Melbourne.
While he is likely to get support from much of Europehe is far from certain to get a majority of support from the Asian confederation which is led by Sheik Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa of Bahrain. The AFC did not immediately reply to calls or emails seeking comment on Prince Ali’s candidacy.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.