Prince Ali to stand in new FIFA presidency elections

June 03, 2015 | 09:54

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Jordanian Prince Ali bin al Hussein will stand in new elections for the presidency of world football's governing body after Sepp Blatter announced he was to quit FIFA, a senior Jordanian football official told AFP.

File photo of Jordan's Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein, FIFA's Asian vice president and chairman of the Jordan Football Association. (REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth)

AMMAN: Jordanian Prince Ali bin al Hussein will stand in new elections for the presidency of world football's governing body after Sepp Blatter announced he was to quit FIFA, a senior Jordanian football official told AFP.

Prince Ali failed in his bid last week to oust Blatter, the Swiss veteran winning a fifth term in Friday's vote, but then announcing on Tuesday (Jun 2) that he was to step down amid a growing corruption scandal.

"As for new elections, Prince Ali is ready," Sala Sabra, vice-president of the Jordanian football federation which the prince heads up, told AFP. The prince, Sabra added, was also ready "to take up the presidency immediately if they ask him". "We're currently studying the legal situation of the FIFA presidency," said Sabra, who added that it had "lost its legitimacy".

"Prince Ali is ready to take over as FIFA head at any moment, should they ask him," reiterated Sabra, dubbing Blatter's announcement a "big collapse" and hailing the prince at "having succeeded in provoking change".

In Friday's presidency election in Zurich, Blatter won 133 votes to Prince Ali's 73 in the first round of voting. That left Blatter seven votes short of the required majority, requiring a second round of voting.

The Jordanian prince, a FIFA vice president campaigning for reform of the scandal-tainted organisation, withdrew before that second round, however, allowing Blatter in for his short-lived fifth term.

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