Prince Ali: FIFA cannot be credible while Blatter leads

GENEVA>> FIFA cannot make credible changes in the last months of Sepp Blatter’s leadership of the scandalhit body, former presidential candidate Prince Ali bin al-Hussein said Monday.

The Jordanian prince also doubted the worth of FIFA’s in- house reforms task force which is supported by Michel Platini, his former ally and now frontrunner to succeed Blatter in the Feb. 26 election.

“I don’t think anybody will take any decisions that are credible in the current situation,” Prince Ali told the Associated Press in a telephone interview Monday.

“I think that the important thing is that you need an overall change in leadership,” said the prince.

Ali described Platini as “not good for FIFA” when the UEFA president launched his campaign two weeks ago.

“The entire football world would like to see a change.”

Still, Prince Ali has not committed to making a second bid to be president and enact that change.

“Right now I’m talking to our national associations, listening to their opinions,” said the prince.

Ali got votes from 73 of FIFA’s 209 member federations when Blatter won reelection in May.

Within four days, Blatter announced he would leave office under pressure from dual American and Swiss federal investigations of corruption that finally drove World Cup sponsors to demand a change of culture at FIFA.

Prince Ali could outline campaign plans on Sept. 7 as a keynote speaker at the Soccerex conference in Manchester, England.

“It’s a place where I will obviously want to present my ideas for what I think is best for the organization,” said the prince.

Ali had served as Asia’s FIFA vice president for four years until May.

September shapes as busy for FIFA politics though the deadline for presidential contenders to file nomination papers is not until Oct. 26.

On Sept. 15-16, UEFA members who mostly supported Prince Ali against Blatter will meet in Malta and can expect to hear details of their president Platini’s manifesto for FIFA.

Prince Ali declined to comment on possibly stepping on Platini’s turf during that two- day session.

It is one of few scheduled meetings where large numbers of FIFA voters will gather before the election congress in Zurich.

“I do hope that this time around it will be a good election,” Prince Ali said.

“The important thing is that there is a proper debate and things are based on a real platform.”