By Andrew Warshaw
October 15 – With precision strategic timing, Prince Ali bin al-Hussein has formally submitted his candidature to take over from Sepp Blatter as FIFA president – 11 days before the deadline for nominations.
With his main rival Michel Platini under threat of being ruled out, Prince Ali has decided to choose now to announce that he has sent in the required five letters of support which all candidates need to have a run at the presidency.
Prince Ali has already called for Tuesday’s emergency FIFA meeting not to call off February’s election in the light of Blatter being suspended, along with Platini, by FIFA’s ethics committee.
Platini’s position as Europe’s candidate was being discussed today by UEFA’s top brass and with the stench of corruption showing no sign of easing, Prince Ali has grabbed his chance to put himself forward as the man to reform FIFA.
Platini put in his candidacy last week but hours later was suspended from all football activities for 90 days by the FIFA ethics committee. In a letter to all FIFA’s 209 federations, Prince Ali promised to restore FIFA’s battered reputation.
“I have never lost sight of the fact that there are so many good and honest people within the global FIFA organisation,” he wrote. “The dark cloud over FIFA’s leadership should not cast its shadow on our Member Associations and the thousands of volunteers who work tirelessly to bring the joy football [sic] to young boys and girls, and millions of fans the world over.
“The crisis at FIFA is a crisis of leadership. I believe in this organisation. Together we will make it great again.”
“A better future will only come if ideas turn into action – and that will only happen if FIFA has the right leadership. I am confident that FIFA can emerge from this difficult period with its reputation restored and become organisation that is once again viewed with respect.”
Prince Ali, son of the late King Hussein and president of the Jordanian FA, was the sole challenger to Blatter in last May’s election, gaining 73 votes to Blatter’s 133 before withdrawing from a second round of voting.
He’s been given another chance only because Blatter, following the arrests and indictments of a string of key FIFA officials on US corruption charges, announced he is stepping down prematurely.
Under the rules, Prince Ali would have had to hand in written support letters from at least five national associations. Jordan will obviously be one of them but he refused to name the others “out of respect,” leaving them to make their own decisions. Interestingly, shortly after the deadline for candidates last time, Prince Ali pubicly named those who had endorsed him as Jordan, England, Malta, Georgia, Belarus and, unsurprisingly given his close relationship with US Soccer chief Sunil Gulati, the United States. One waits to see whether he will do so again.
Other contenders who have declared an interest include South Korean heavyweight Chung Mong-joon, former Brazilian icon Zico, one-time Nigeria captain Segun Odegbami and Liberian FA president Musa Bility. Chung’s prospective bid looks derailed, however, after the former FIFA vice-president was banned for six years as part of the ongoing investigation into the controversial 2018-2022 World Cup bid process.
Prince Ali is seeking only one term which would last for little more than three years because of the time scale for replacing Blatter. “I am one of you, an FA president, and I know how hard you strive to define football,” he wrote. “For all of us these are dark times. Restoring FIFA’s credibility will not be an easy task, but together it can be done. For the good of the game and all who love it, I humbly ask for the honour of your support.”
How much he gets remains to be seen.
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