'It is impossible that FIFA moves on with its current presidency'
The only chance of unseating Sepp Blatter and reforming the governance of world football is to unite all those unhappy with his leadership, Dutch FA chief Michael Van Praag said after he dropped out of the FIFA presidential race.
- More withdrawals leave Blatter favourite to retain FIFA top job
Van Praag and his rival, former Portuguese international Luis Figo, threw their backing behind Jordan's Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein on Thursday after concluding that he had the best chance of unseating Blatter, who is running for a fifth term.
"It is impossible that FIFA moves on with its current presidency," Van Praag told a joint news conference with Ali in Amsterdam, adding that Ali had agreed to implement his and Figo's human rights and governance reform agendas if elected.
Jordanian royal Prince Ali said there was a will within the game to unseat Swiss Blatter. "If the football family follows their desires, and if things are done in a correct way with no interference, we have a great chance of making that change," he said.
European football federations are keen to oust the 79-year-old, but corruption and human rights scandals that have caused outrage in Europe have made less impression elsewhere, and Blatter is expected to garner most of the 209 votes on May 29.
In much of the world, Blatter's FIFA is seen as a champion of the lesser footballing powers in a game that risks being dominated by a handful of elite European clubs.
In an apparent bid to counterbalance that sentiment, Prince Ali promised to increase the number of teams participating in the World Cup finals to 36 from its current 32 and to distribute more money to poorer federations to support development.
Van Praag said Prince Ali had agreed to back his human rights and governance commitments, including ensuring better protection for workers currently building Qatar's World Cup venues in conditions that have been condemned by human rights groups.
"He is the one candidate who has the biggest chance to challenge Sepp Blatter," Van Praag said.
Prince Ali said he would make FIFA's governance more transparent and inclusive if elected, by giving continental federations more weight in decision-making and appointing a powerful advisory board alongside the president, who in future would be limited to two terms.
He would also work to eliminate ethnic, racial and sex discrimination from the game, he said.
