SOUTHERN SHUNEH, Jordan — FIFA must give national associations a greater say in the governance of world football and adopt a more regional outlook because "you cannot run everything simply from Zurich," FIFA presidential candidate Prince Ali of Jordan said Sunday.
Prince Ali also said it was "a bit shocking" that challengers of incumbent Sepp Blatter have not been able to speak at recent confederation congresses. The candidate said his requests to take the stage were turned down and that he was told Blatter spoke as president, not as a candidate.
"If that attitude takes place at the top level in football, what does this mean for national associations themselves?" Prince Ali asked in an on-stage interview at the opening of a regional SoccerEx conference. "On the one hand, you say, as a national association you have to be democratic, and you don’t apply it to the top level of football?"
The 79-year-old Blatter is seeking his fifth four-year term and is seen as the front-runner in the May 29 election. His two other challengers are Dutch FA head Michael van Praag and former Portugal international Luis Figo.
Asked Sunday if two of the three challengers might consider pulling out before the vote, presumably to improve the chances of unseating Blatter, the prince said: "I think we will be communicating with each other, but right now we are all focused on what we want to do, and getting the message out."
The moderator, football commentator Keir Radnedge, noted that the other candidates had been offered a chance to address the Asian Forum of SoccerEx, hosted by Jordan. Among those attending the gathering was Argentine football great Diego Maradona.
Prince Ali, an outgoing FIFA vice-president, said his travels during his campaign gave him a chance to hear more about the concerns of national football associations.
"The most crucial issue is to have much more of an input into the organization (FIFA) from the national association level," he said.
He called for setting up regional offices to oversee football development. He also said FIFA needs to put more of its profits back into football.
"There is a lot of discussion and numbers that have been thrown out," he said. "I’ve been very hesitant to get into that because I don’t think many know what the financial situation in FIFA is" and how money is being spent.
"Obviously, we have to have a healthy reserve, but we have to put a lot more back into the game," he said.
Aid packages to national associations haven’t been increased since 1989, except for a one-off bonus last year, the prince said.
FIFA revenue topped $2 billion last year, adding $91 million to its reserves, which now stand at $1.523 billion after the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
The prince said his last four years in FIFA have been "a bit of a culture shock," describing an atmosphere in which having an opinion is "not exactly seen in the best of light."
He said he decided to challenge Blatter, in part, because the reputation of FIFA "is not there at all."
The organization’s reputation has been marred by scandal, including an investigation into suspicions of possible irregularities in the way hosting rights for the World Cup in 2018 and 2022 were awarded to Russia and Qatar, respectively.
Last year, American lawyer Michael Garcia, asked by FIFA to investigate, found "serious and wide-ranging issues" with the process. Garcia resigned from the FIFA ethics committee after he challenged FIFA’s summary of his confidential dossier.
Prince Ali said Sunday that he’s had many issues with the current FIFA leadership, including "not having the Garcia report published."