FIFA: Ali bin Al Hussein challenges Blatter

Jordan's Prince Ali bin Al Hussein announced on Tuesday that he would be a candidate in the vote to elect a new president of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) on May 29.

"I am seeking the presidency of FIFA because I believe it is time to shift the focus away from administrative controversy and back to sport," he said. "The world game deserves a world-class governing body - an International Federation that is a service organisation and a model of ethics, transparency and good governance."

He added that his decision to run had not been taken lightly.

"It came after careful consideration and many discussions with respected FIFA colleagues over the last few months. The message I heard, over and over, was that it is time for a change."

The prince is the second candidate to throw his hat into the ring to challenge current FIFA President Josef "Sepp" Blatter, 78, who has said he would seek re-election despite the fact that he had been most recently re-elected on the promise that this would be his last term. The other is FIFA's former director of international relations, Jerome Champagne of France, who declared his candidacy last September.

Close Platini ally

The 39-year-old Prince Ali has been the FIFA vice president for Asia since 2011 and is a close ally of Michel Platini, the president of UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe, and one of Blatter's biggest rivals.

The prince will need five of FIFA's 2009 member states to nominate him by a January 29 deadline, but this is not expected to be a problem, due to what is thought to be his strong support among UEFA countries.

However, it is not clear how much support he will get from his own Asian Football Confederation, which declared its support for Blatter at its 60th anniversary celebrations in Manila back in November.

Prince Ali will be hoping to capitalize on the controversies that have dogged Blatter's reign, particularly in recent years. The awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar have come under intense scrutiny, especially after the man FIFA appointed to look into corruption allegations surrounding the bids, former US prosecutor, Michael Garcia resigned last month.

Garcia quit after FIFA refused to release his full report into the bidding process for the two events, arguing that a summary published by the governing body had misrepresented his findings. FIFA's Executive Committee later voted to publish the report in an "appropriate form."

Prince Ali had been one of the most senior FIFA officials to call for Garcia's full report to be made public.

pfd/rg (Reuters, AFP, AP)