By Andrew Warshaw
July 16 – Prince Ali bin al Hussein of Jordan may have gone quiet media-wise since losing the FIFA presidential election to Sepp Blatter but in under two months’ time he will be in open forum when he seems sure to be quizzed on the pros and cons of his candidacy, which gained 73 votes, and what his next move might be.
Even if he announces beforehand whether or not to run again now that Blatter is standing down, Prince Ali’s presence at the Soccerex Global Convention on Manchester in early September will generate considerable interest.
His appearance will come a few months before the extraordinary congress to elect Blatter’s successor and will give the football industry a unique opportunity to hear directly from the young reformist who boldly decided to challenge the veteran Swiss but who has now lost his main FIFA roles.
Shortly before May’s FIFA Congress that re-elected Blatter for the fifth time, Prince Ali spoke to delegates at the Soccerex Asian Forum in his native Jordan where he said he felt he needed to run for President in order to enhance FIFA’s reputation. Since the election itself, he has kept a relatively low profile as far as the international media is concerned.
The Manchester Soccerex convention programme also includes MLS Commissioner Don Garber and UEFA’s new Executive Committee member Davor Suker , the former Croatian international who now runs his country’s federation.
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