MOSCOW: A FIFA president should serve a maximum of only two terms in office according to candidate Prince Ali of Jordan.

Earlier this month the world federation’s executive committee approved reform proposals including limiting a president to 12 years, replacing the 25-member executive committee with a 36-member council and cutting the number of FIFA committees from 26 to nine.

Prince Ali bin Al Hussein, in an interview with the Russian news agency TASS, said: “My point of view is this – I come from a national association, I’ve been president of it for many years.

“But that is a bit different than the FIFA president because when you are in a national association, you have your teams, you have your leagues to deal with whereas the FIFA president is there to serve 209 national associations together.”

“So, therefore, I do believe that a two-term limit should be the maximum. And it also gives an opportunity for new ideas, new people to come in.”

Second attempt

On February 26, Prince Ali will be running for president for the second time inside a year. He made his first attempt in late May but pulled out after the first round of vote.

Reviewing the challenge ahead he said: “One of the key difficulties within FIFA is that we were all separated within zones, confederations. But football is the language for the whole world. So I am there to unite.

“I think that because we had only a few months at the first time it was difficult to make an impression or to get everybody to know who I am whether it’s the public, national associations and so on.”

“But I think that for me that this is the continuation of the journey that I am determined to finish – and I will do that.”

The other election candidates are Jerome Champagne (France), Gianni Infantino (UEFA general secretary; Switzerland), Tokyo Sexwale (South Africa) and Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa (Asian Football Confederation president; Bahrain).

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