FIFA presidential candidate Prince Ali bin al-Hussein said that some national teams "have been given unfavorable competition fixtures for failing to toe the political line" inside football's world governing body, according to Brian Homewood of REUTERS.
Prince Ali, one of five men competing to take over as head of FIFA, "described a climate of fear and reprisals inside the scandal-plagued organization, whose outgoing boss Sepp Blatter was suspended in October and banned for eight years in December." Prince Ali:
"Let me tell you what happens when you don't go with the recognized powers in FIFA. Development projects mysteriously stall; tournament hosting bids are suddenly compromised or withdrawn; national teams start to mysteriously face less favorable fixtures or even referees." Speaking later, Prince Ali "did not enlarge on the allegation that national teams had been given unfavorable fixtures, but he said the practice had extended to FIFA competitions." Prince Ali:
"I'm referring to competitions and a lot of times it comes down to the (continental) confederations as well, and the way they approach games" (REUTERS, 2/11). The AFP reported
Prince Ali "condemned the tactics of his main election rivals," raising ethical questions about their efforts to secure block support from regional football confederations.
The Jordanian royal, also a former FIFA VP, "is seen as an underdog" in the Feb. 26 poll to lead world football, with UEFA General Secretary Gianni Infantino and Asian Football Confederation President Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa considered the front-runners. Prince Ali stressed that "the election will be decided by the individual votes of FIFA's 209-member national federations, not by a handful of executives."
Prince Ali said, "I am not a candidate who tries to use a couple of executive committees or confederations to push voters in a certain way. That is what differentiates me from other candidates. ... If other candidates do choose to work on regions and try to divide up the world, then, yes, I think that is wrong" (AFP, 2/11). The PA's Martyn Ziegler wrote the contest for the FIFA presidency "has taken on a personal edge" after the favorite was accused by one of his rivals of failing to protect players.
Prince Ali "pointed the finger at his rival" Sheikh Salman over allegations from human rights groups.
Sheikh Salman is a member of the Bahrain royal family and has attracted opposition from human rights organizations "due to the regime's role in the suppression of the country's pro-democracy demonstrations in 2011, which saw some footballers imprisoned and allegedly tortured" (PA, 2/11).
CAMPAIGN FUNDS: EYE WITNESS NEWS' Carl Lewis reported South African businessman Tokyo Sexwale "confirmed that he has financed his own campaign" in a bid to become the next FIFA president. The 62-year-old said that "he will not be stepping aside and is confident of his campaign so far."
Sexwale said that the FIFA ethics committee "has asked about funding to all candidates." Sexwale: "Tokyo Sexwale finances Tokyo Sexwale full stop. Nobody helps me with finances and FIFA wants to know. ... A letter is sent by the ethics committee to ask who is funding you. All of us had to declare who is funding us" (EWN, 2/11).
THE SHORTLIST: The campaign to select the official mascot for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia has taken another step forward, with three shortlisted designs now being prepared for the public vote that will take place across Russia in the fall.
A tiger, wolf and cat, designed by three Russian student designers, have emerged as the finalists (FIFA).
