Ekun Samuel, 22 May 2015, 8:28AM.
Prince Ali Bin al Hussein of Jordan has targeted Asia and Africa, which are Sepp Blatter's biggest areas of support.
Prince Ali 39 year old born 23 December 1975, is currently the Vice President of FIFA since the year 2011. Prince Ali is the third son of king Hussein of Jordan, and the second child of the king by his third wife, Queen Alia. Prince Ali is claimed to be the 43rd generation direct descendant of the Islamic prophet Mohammad.
After the stepping down of Dutch FA President Michael Van Praag and Luis Figo of Portugal, Prince Ali is now the only rival to Sepp Blatter to the FIFA Presidency. Van Praag formally endorsed Prince Ali while Figo issued an attacking statement to FIFA for incidents in the campaign he said "shamed" the organisation.
Sepp Blatter 79 could be considered as becoming too old for the position as he runs for his fifth term in the office. Sepp Blatter as been regarded as favourite but the Prince of Jordan is not making it easy for me as his manifesto will be considered as a real development to the world of football.
Prince Ali's new manifesto states: "A commitment to extend the number of countries participating in the World Cup from 32 to 36 teams as soon as possible, with a view to further, development-led expansion to be considered thereafter. I am committed to exploring all options to enable this expansion urgently, ideally in time for the 2018 World Cup."
The proposal, which Prince Ali will put to the FIFA executive committee for approval if elected, would see every of Asia, Africa and the CONCACAF federation each get an extra slot, while Oceania get a guaranteed slot and South America five places instead of 4.5.
Prince Ali has also pledges every association will receive $1m US dollar a year if voted into office. This attempts will be to gain the support of FIFA President Sepp Blatter biggest area of support.
