Prince Ali says he wants to bring in real transparency for sake of FIFA credibility
MELBOURNE: Prince Ali bin Al Hussein will base his bid for the presidency of FIFA on the need for ‘real’ transparency rather than the restricted version controlled by incumbent Sepp Blatter writes KEIR RADNEDGE.
Blatter, in defiance of the reform proposals recommended two years ago by governance guru Mark Pieth, has refused to permit publication of the remuneration packages of senior FIFA officials and directors.
Last month FIFA scrapped the practice of running live streaming of Blatter’s press conferences after executive committee meetings.
Prince Ali, Asian vice-president of FIFA, declared his candidacy early this past week. He is considered a more credible contender than former FIFA official Jerome Champagne even though the Frenchman has been campaigning for almost a year.
This week Prince Ali has been in Australia for an extraordinary congress of the Asian Football Confederation.
Talking about his challenge to Blatter at FIFA Congress in Zurich on May 29 he insisted he was driven by a need for “transparency,” for “restoring people’s confidence” under a 10-year plan for the future.
He said: “Now is a critical time on where the football family see the game going. FIFA as an organisation tends to be a bit secretive. We should be open and happy and confident to be engaged with everyone.
Confidence
“We have to really focus on restoring people’s confidence in the organisation, that will be our No1 priority. I was probably the first to ask for the Garcia report to come out, and I believe that we should be totally transparent in that respect.
“The executive committee, the information we have is the same as you and the whole world, we have not been informed about what went on but I believe in full transparency and have full confidence that nobody should have anything to hide. We owe this to the football community, it’s everyone’s right, from players to fans.
“We have a lot of things that need to be addressed and reform is crucial. I’m looking to make real change that’s why I’m putting my hat in the ring. Change is inevitable, we need to get back to basics.’’
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