Prince Ali challenges Sepp Blatter to public debate over Fifa presidency
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Version 0 of 1. Prince Ali Bin al-Hussein, one of three rival candidates taking on Sepp Blatter for the Fifa presidency, has warned of a culture of intimidation within world football’s governing body and called for a public debate between the candidates. “There is a culture of intimidation within Fifa but this is a candidacy for the whole world,” said Ali, who counted the English Football Association among the six member associations who nominated him to stand. “In the past, people have taken a principled stand and have been punished for it. I hope that if things are played fairly, things will go in the appropriate way. I have to reassure our national associations that I will be the right candidate for them.” Blatter, who has been at Fifa for 40 years and president for the past 17, originally promised to stand down after his current term but has now pledged to continue his “mission” for another four years. The Jordanian royal, one of four candidates to receive the required five nominations from Fifa’s 209 members, cited that U-turn and Blatter’s decision to shelve a reform plan commissioned in the wake of the last election as among the triggers for his decision to stand. He challenged Blatter and his fellow candidates – the former world footballer of the year Luis Figo and the Dutch FA president Michael van Praag – to a public debate. “If we are talking about transparency, I would like to see a public debate including the incumbent,” he said. Blatter has indicated that he is highly unlikely to expose himself in such a public forum. “It’s a long campaign until 29 May,” Ali said. “I don’t think anybody should be written off. Globally there is a desire for change and I look forward to that challenge.” Ali said he planned to meet Figo and van Praag as soon as possible. “Luis Figo is a friend of mine and Michael van Praag is someone I respect a lot,” he said. “I would like to sit with them and have a discussion. It’s good that we have more than one candidate and it is emblematic of the desire for reform.” All three challengers have received support from Uefa’s president, Michel Platini, but Ali denied that he was a Uefa puppet, or that the three rivals to Blatter were running a co-ordinated campaign. “I am my own man and I am running for the presidency of Fifa,” he said. “I have nominations from three different confederations.” The 39-year-old, who has been on the Fifa executive committee for four years, said he would leave the organisation altogether if he failed in his bid to win the presidency on 29 May. Ali confirmed that the six countries that nominated him were England, the United States, Jordan, Belarus, Malta and Georgia. The three challengers to the 78-year-old Blatter face an uphill challenge in breaking down his traditional support bases in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean and it was telling that the only backing Ali received from his home confederation was from his own nation. But he said that the pledges of support for Blatter made by five of the six confederations in Brazil in advance of the World Cup were made before it was clear that he had competition. “I don’t think anyone has a stranglehold on any confederation,” said Ali, who was educated at Sandhurst. “What happened in Brazil was before there were other candidates. It’s a matter of discussing with other member associations and sponsors, who are disappointed with the way things are going. “I have been in football for many years as an association president. The owners of the game are the fans and the players, the team managers and so on. We are there to serve the game, not to dictate how things are done. We need to restore confidence.” Ali could lose his position on the Fifa executive committee before the presidential vote because of changes proposed by the Asian Football Confederation. |