Fifa vice president Prince Ali bin Al Hussein of Jordan has made public his intentions to stand for the presidential election, which will take place on May 29 in Zurich.
Only 39 years old, Prince Ali, son of the late King Hussein, aims to beat incumbent president Sepp Blatter, who has been guiding Fifa for 17 years, and prevent him from winning a fifth term in office.
Prince Ali has promised to run a positive campaign, and claims he aims on cleaning up Fifa's tarnished image. The organisation has been hit with scandal after scandal, from bribery allegations to World Cup ticket scams, with the latest one surrounding the decision to award Qatar hosting rights for the 2022 World Cup.
This has led to many calling for Blatter to either step down or leave office when this term ends. However, with many of Fifa's member federations showing support for the 79-year-old, this looks unlikely to occur.
“This was not an easy decision,” read a statement by the Jordan prince. “It came after careful consideration and many discussions with respected Fifa colleagues over the last few months.”
“The message I heard, over and over, was that it is time for a change.”
He also said, “it is time to shift the focus away from administrative controversy and back to sport.”
“The world’s game deserves a world-class governing body an international federation that is a service organisation and a model of ethics, transparency and good governance.”
Joining Fifa back in June 2011, Prince Ali will need five of the organization's 209 members to nominate him for the election before the January 29 deadline, but reportedly already has the backing of UEFA and its president Michel Platini, an outspoken critic of Blatter.
