By Andrew Warshaw
May 21 – Prince Ali bin Al Hussein of Jordan, the young reformist who entered the FIFA presidential race knowing it was win or bust, will go head-to-head with Sepp Blatter next week after Luis Figo joined Michael Van Praag on the sidelines as both dramatically withdrew on the same day.
In what was surely a co-ordinated move after a mere four months on the campaign trail, Dutch federation chief Van Praag made his announcement in the morning, followed a few hours’ later by Portugal’s former World Player of the Year stepping aside, but not before he issued a withering attack on the entire election process via a press statement.
That left Prince Ali, the first candidate to throw his hat into the ring, as Blatter’s sole opponent at the FIFA congress in Zurich on May 29.
Yesterday, the respective van Praag and Figo camps denied their men were pulling out but it was clear there was an accord in place in terms of timing. The trio held talks close to UEFA headquarters in Switzerland last week to devise a strategy on the best way forward. Van Praag and Prince Ali were staging a joint press conference in Amsterdam tonight to provide more details of what was a momentous few hours in the unpredictable world of football politics.
“After thorough deliberation and reflection with different involved parties and stakeholders, Michael van Praag decided to withdraw his candidacy to become the next FIFA president and to join forces with presidential candidate Prince Ali Al Hussein,” Van Praag’s early statement said. A year ago, van Praag, who says he has always liked Blatter as a person, famously savaged his running of FIFA at a stormy UEFA meeting that preceded the 2014 FIFA congress, resulting in the veteran Swiss saying he had never been so insulted. ”The image of FIFA has been tarnished by everything that has happened over the last years,” Van Praag said at the time. “People tend not to take you seriously any more. That is not good for FIFA, not good for the game, not good for the world.”
Despite such ferocity, the Dutch FA chief said back then he would not stand. His mind was changed after UEFA president Michel Platini ruled himself out, entering the campaign three days before the deadline at the end of January. But Van Praag said from the outset he was only interested in one term as a transitional FIFA president and by standing, he risked splitting the anti-Blatter vote, leaving many national associations unsure who to support.
In recent weeks, as all three candidates found themselves unable to swing sufficient momentum away from Blatter, speculation intensified that at least one of them would withdraw though two on the same day was an unexpected development.
Few seasoned observers ever expected Figo to go all the way. For all his laudable ideas including increasing World Cup participation, the Portuguese footballing icon has little political experience off the field but did not throw in the towel without issuing a hard-hitting rebuke.
“Does anyone think it’s normal that an election for one of the most relevant organisations on the planet can go ahead without a public debate?,” charged Figo.
” Does anyone think it’s normal that one of the candidates doesn’t even bother to present an election manifesto that can be voted on May 29? Shouldn’t it be mandatory to present such a manifesto so that federation presidents know what they’re voting for?
“That would be normal, but this electoral process is anything but an election. This process is a plebiscite for the delivery of absolute power to one man – something I refuse to go along with.”
The former Barcelona and Real Madrid star was always the rank outsider but his hard-hitting, rhetoric-filled statement continued to pull no punches.
“I have witnessed consecutive incidents, all over the world, that should shame anyone who desires soccer to be free, clean and democratic,” said Figo.
“I have seen with my own eyes federation presidents who, after one day comparing FIFA leaders to the devil, then go on stage and compare those same people with Jesus Christ. Nobody told me about this. I saw it with my own eyes.”
“That is why, after a personal reflection and sharing views with two other candidates in this process, I believe that what is going to happen on May 29 in Zurich is not a normal electoral act. And because it is not, don’t count on me.”
Blatter may not (yet) have issued a manifesto but Figo’s remarks, while clearly a dig at the man who has run FIFA for 17 years, will also be interpreted as a swipe at all those who support the veteran Swiss – of which there are a fair few. He remains runaway favourite to secure a fifth term though Prince Ali will be hoping, having done the maths, that he can put up a bold challenge by adding the supporters of van Praag and Figo to his own loyal band of followers even though his own Asian confederation is largely behind Blatter.
Prince Ali’s campaign has been based on talk of transparency, stronger governance and fairer and more equitable distribution of resources. While van Praag may have age on his side, he hasn’t been able to push as many buttons outside of Europe as the 39-year-old royal who has been on the FIFA executive committee for four years.
Whether Prince Ali can persuade enough federations to vote against Blatter and take the ballot beyond one round is entirely another matter.
If he loses, he has vowed to walk away from FIFA and concentrate on improving the game, on and off the field, in his own Continent. The intriguing question now is whether his chance next week has been enhanced or weakened.
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