Prince Ali: ‘Platini bad for FIFA’

By Football Italia staff

Prince Ali bin Hussein will not support Michel Platini’s FIFA Presidential bid - ‘we need new blood, new ideas’.

The President of the Jordanian FA stood against current President Sepp Blatter earlier this year, before his decision to step down at an extraordinary FIFA congress next month.

The clear favourite to take over the role is former Juventus midfielder Platini, who is head of UEFA and is already backed by a number of federations, including the FIGC.

“I have deep respect for him [Platini] as a player, and also as President of UEFA,” Prince Ali told Agence France-Presse, as reported by sports newspaper L’Equipe.

“I’ve worked with him, and we’ve had agreements and disagreements. There’s nothing personal between us, but I don’t think he’s the right person to make the current reforms.

“We need new leaders, and he’s part of the system. I won’t reveal exactly what I said to him, but I went to him with an open mind, to understand what he thinks.

“I don’t think it [his plan] is enough for what we need. Whatever happens in the future, it shouldn’t be a compromise, we need an open and frank debate.

“The organisation must have a good reputation. The day no-one knows who is President will be the day we know things are going well.

“It has to be about football, players and supporters, and unfortunately that’s not the case today.

“I think the people from the past should not stay, we need new blood, new ideas. We have to reclaim it for football, and for football fans all over the world.

“You can’t have an organisation which governs the most popular sport in the world, with the reputation it has at the moment.

“That clearly has to change, and from there we have to make sure we’re listening more to national federations.

“In a certain way, FIFA is a wonderful organisation because it works with federations all over the world. We have to launch a process of reform immediately.

“We have to be open, we have to talk to real advisors and be transparent. We have to focus on things like development and social responsibility, which I’m very concerned about, and restore the credibility of this organisation.

“Michael Garcia’s report [into the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding process], I was the first person to ask for it to be made public.

“Not only was it not made public, it wasn’t shown to the executive committee itself. That’s emblematic of the problems within the organisation.

“FIFA has been accumulating reserves for several years with the World Cup. What’s given to the national federations hasn’t changed since, I think, 1989, it’s absurd.

“I’m very worried, I’ve seen the effects [of the corruptions scandals] on sponsors, we shouldn’t be in this position.

“We have to make sure people are comfortable when they’re dealing with FIFA. That’s easy to achieve if the sponsors know they’re dealing with people who are credible and accountable.

“Anyone who loves this sport should be concerned about the situation.”

Prince Ali was less forthcoming, however, on whether he’d stand for the Presidency of world football’s governing body for a second time.

“At the moment I’m talking with colleagues, listening to their opinions and seeing where they want to go.

“The question is never about who will be President, but having the right person to do the job.”

Watch Serie A live in the UK on Premier Sports for just £9.99 per month including live LaLiga, Eredivisie, Scottish Cup Football and more. Visit: https://www.premiersports.com/subscribenow