Prince Ali bin al-Hussein confirms he will run FIFA presidency

Prince Ali Bin al-Hussein of Jordan, who was defeated by Sepp Blatter to the FIFA presidency as the organisation went into meltdown in May, has confirmed he will stand again for the most powerful role in world football.

Ali was the sole challenger to Blatter in May and was backed by Uefa president Michel Platini. Now he will become one of three former FIFA insiders, including Platini himself, now confirmed as challenging for the FIFA presidency in February.

Since losing the presidential vote in May by 133 to 73, only to see Blatter promise to stand down days later amid arrests and fraud allegations, Prince Ali has turned on Platini.

In his speech to announce his candidature, one of a number of public appearances this week, Ali aimed a series of pointed remarks at the French Uefa president.

“Ten months ago, I was the only person who dared to challenge Mr Blatter for the Presidency of FIFA. I ran because I believe that FIFA needs change. And I had the courage to fight for change when others were afraid,” he said.

“I conceded that election. Not because I was not the best candidate, but because others were using me to make room for themselves. They didn’t have the guts to run, but I did. Ever since President Blatter promised his resignation just a few days later, they have been scrambling to secure the job for themselves.”

Platini is now running for Blatter’s job himself ahead of February’s vote, as is Chung Mong-joon, the Hyundai scion who is another former FIFA vice president who lost his position in 2011.

The trio have until October 26 to gather nominations from five federations and all will be confident of doing so. Chung, who sat on the FIFA executive committee for 17 years, has attempted to position himself as a reformer.

Launching his campaign last month he referred to Platini, the front runner, as the “son of Blatter” – a barbed reference to the fact that the French Uefa president was widely seen as the natural heir to the discredited Swiss before the pair fell out.

Blatter is likely to back another of the candidates rumoured to be considering whether to stand, such as the South African Tokyo Sexwale or the former Trinidad & Tobago player David Nakhid.

The jostling for position, against a backdrop of widespread cynicism about an ongoing reform process and the fact that all of the front runners for the presidency have a long and compromised history within the organisation, is likely to intensify as the October nominations deadline looms.

“We have come too far to walk away now. I have thought long and hard on this. I believe in the road we started. I believe in the moments I shared with people all over the world, who told me their hopes and dreams,” said Ali, who was a FIFA vice president between 2011 and 2015.

“I will not be a pawn for others. I cannot leave the field that I have cleared, only to allow a flawed system to continue.”