Former FIFA Vice President Prince Ali Criticizes Gianni Infantino
Prince Ali bin Al Hussein accuses FIFA leadership of attempted blackmail over unpaid Arab Cup prize money.
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Former FIFA vice president Prince Ali bin Al Hussein criticized FIFA President Gianni Infantino, accusing him of attempting blackmail by withholding Arab Cup prize money in exchange for an election endorsement amid growing leadership backlash.
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Infantino is facing pressure amid a backlash over a failed plan to sell future World Cup profit stakes to private equity investors.
Former FIFA vice president Prince Ali bin Al Hussein was the latest football figure to criticise the leadership of Gianni Infantino on Tuesday, whose re-election is becoming increasingly uncertain.
Prince Ali, the third son of King Hussein of Jordan, said the Jordanian federation he leads still has not been paid money due for reaching the final of the FIFA Arab Cup played last December in Qatar.
In a social media post, Prince Ali said that during the World Cup — where Jordan made its debut in June — he was told if he endorsed FIFA President Gianni Infantino “it would go a long way to helping our FA out.”
Infantino is under pressure to save his 11-year presidency amid a fierce backlash from global soccer leaders about his now-failed plan to sell a stake in future World Cup profits to investors led by Joshua Kushner.
“We pride ourselves in Jordan in upholding ethical values. We did not endorse him before and certainly will not now,” said Prince Ali, who placed third in a five-candidate FIFA presidential contest when Infantino was first elected in February 2016.
“But the whole situation amounts to blackmail and we refuse to give in to that,” the Jordanian royal wrote Tuesday.
The 2025 FIFA Arab Cup that Jordan lost in the title match against Morocco was set to pay $4.2 million to the beaten finalist, Jordanian media reported last year.
“The money our team should receive for having reached the final has not been delivered yet,” Prince Ali wrote, “while at the same time FIFA brags about how many billions they have in reserve.”
“It is clear the problem really is with leadership. For months, FIFA has been refusing to help us on any of these or other matters,” he said.
Fallout from his secretive private equity plan revealed one week ago has rocked soccer politics with Infantino’s former colleagues at European soccer body UEFA now looking for a rival candidate.
FIFA has set an 18 November deadline for candidates to declare for the election by 211 member federations on 18 March in Rabat, Morocco.
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Candidates must declare for the FIFA presidential election.
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Preguntas abiertas
- Will FIFA release the withheld Arab Cup prize money to Jordan?
- Who will run against Gianni Infantino in the March election?
