FIFA presidential candidate Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein said that if elected he wants to implement a 10-year program to reform FIFA, according to the BBC. Ali, 39, and Jerome Champagne will challenge incumbent Sepp Blatter, who took over in '98 and is seeking a fifth term in May's elections. Jordanian Prince Ali said FIFA "tends to be secretive" so transparency and reform "is crucial." Prince Ali: "If elected, we will roll up our sleeves and deliver our program. ... In the coming months, I will be looking to sit down and talk to all our member associations and listen to them. I'm not coming in to dictate. I have my ideas and progress I want to implement, but I have to hear back from my colleagues." Ali, also head of the West Asian Football Federation, "was one of a number of officials who called for the publication" of ethics investigator Michael Garcia's report into allegations of corruption surrounding the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids. He added, "Reform is crucial. I was the first to ask for the Garcia report to come out. We should have nothing to hide" (BBC, 1/10). The SHILLONG TIMES reported top Asian officials "have been dismissive of the Jordanian royal's election challenge, but Prince Ali predicted his manifesto to clean up FIFA's tarnished image would persuade members to vote for him" in the May 29 election. Prince Ali: "I'm not worrying about numbers at the moment. We have a few months to go before the actual election." Asian Football Confederation President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa was among "several Asian powerbrokers at Friday's AFC extraordinary congress in Melbourne who left no doubt" that Prince Ali risked being marginalized (SHILLONG TIMES, 1/11).
