27 February 2025 GMT: 23:03

Prince Ali enlists Bahraini royal help in bid to beat Blatter

Prince Ali 3

By Andrew Warshaw
March 11 – Prince Ali bin al-Hussein’s bid to dethrone Sepp Blatter as president of FIFA has taken an unexpected twist after he appeared to pick up support in arguably the least likely part of Asia.

Ever since Prince Ali became the first contender to take on Blatter, Jordan’s outgoing FIFA vice-president has had to face constant reminders from the head of Asian football, Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, that the Continent is firmly behind the present incumbent.

Prince Ali has never believed Asia will vote as a bloc against him and while his campaign has been relatively low profile by his own media-friendly standards, he has been quietly pulling as many diplomatic strings as he can, not least in Salman’s own backyard.

So much so that according to Jordanian reports, Salman’s very own Bahrain has now come out in favour of the Jordanian royal over Blatter.

Prince Ali recently met with Bahrain’s King Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa who reportedly said his country was standing behind him in the May elections. King Hamad commended the “advanced” level of relations between Jordan and Bahrain.

Whilst it is important to stress that King Hamed will not have a vote on May 29, there is a history, particularly in Arab countries, of ruling families influencing sporting ballots.

Nothing is certain amid the rhetoric of election campaigns but Prince Ali will also be encouraged by the fact that another Asian country, Brunei, seems to be leaning his way. While he was in Bahrain, Prince Ali also met Prince Jefri Bolkiah, brother of the Sultan of Brunei, who apparently voiced support for him.

Like Dutch FA chief Michael van Praag, and former Portuguese icon Luis Figo, Prince Ali is criss-crossing the globe to gauge how much backing he might receive.

The South American Confederation CONMEBOL has repeatedly signalled that it, like Asia and Africa, will back Blatter, who is favourite to win a fifth term in office. But van Praag returned from the Conmebol Congress last week saying he was confident at least two of the 10 member nations will vote for him.

Blatter has yet to launch his manifesto if indeed he plans to at all. He may feel he has sufficient global support already – except in Europe of course.

His next stop on the campaign trail is on enemy territory, the UEFA Congress in Vienna on March 23. Despite the ill-feeling towards the veteran Swiss among many European FIFA members for changing his mind about standing again, protocol dictates Blatter will be given a respectful welcome though the other three candidates are likely to feel far more comfortable with their surroundings.

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