FIFA presidential candidate Prince Ali bin al-Hussein said that he will stay in the running for the FIFA presidency after "reports he could drop out." He had been quoted as saying he, along with candidates Michael van Praag and Luís Figo, "could consider a single rival to incumbent Sepp Blatter." But he said that he has had "good reactions from the governing bodies he has visited before the election" on May 29. Prince Ali: "I will continue the race until the end" (BBC, 5/5). ... As China carries out a reform plan unveiled in late March, Chinese football has "achieved some good results in
Asia." Guangzhou Evergrande climbed to the first position in Asia in the
world club rankings released on Tuesday, while
Beijing Guo'an was ranked 19th (XINHUA, 5/5). ... The Football League said on Monday that relegated League Championship side Blackpool's final Championship fixture against Huddersfield Town, which was abandoned soon after halftime following crowd protests, "will not be replayed." Saturday's match was abandoned in the 48th minute, with the score at 0-0, "after hundreds of Blackpool fans invaded the pitch and refused to leave in a protest against the club's owners, the Oyston family" (REUTERS, 5/4). ... Ceará state "announced the damage" of 1,580 broken chairs at the Arena Castelão after this weekend's Campeonato Cearense. The damage from the "acts of vandalism" totaled R$500,000 ($163,000) (ESTADÃO, 5/4).
