The Fifa presidential candidate Prince Ali bin al-Hussein says football’s world governing body has been “shaken to its very core” by the recent scandals – and change is not a matter of choice.
Ali released a statement on Saturday, the day after criminal proceedings were opened against outgoing president Sepp Blatter.
The Swiss attorney general said Blatter is suspected of criminal mismanagement or misappropriation over a TV rights deal he signed with former Caribbean football chief Jack Warner in 2005.
He is also suspected of “a disloyal payment” in 2011 of two million Swiss francs (£1.35m) to Uefa president Michel Platini – seen by many as the favourite to succeed Blatter – for work carried out by the Frenchman more than nine years before between 1999 and 2002.
Blatter and Platini both deny any wrongdoing.
Ali, said: “The need for new leadership that can restore the credibility of Fifa has never been more apparent. We cannot change the past, but we can have a future where Fifa member associations are able to focus on football rather than worrying about the next scandal or criminal investigation involving Fifa leadership.
“We have to accept that changing Fifa is not a matter of choice; it has already changed, shaken to its very core by the scandals that have decimated our governing body and cast a cloud over the entire organisation. We have a duty to use our expertise, our experience, and our knowledge to lift that cloud by taking action to demonstrate that Fifa is worthy of the sport it oversees on behalf of the players, the fans and the millions of young boys and girls who can benefit from it.
“Change, as I have always said, is a process. It is not an event. The process of change at Fifa began in May. We have an opportunity in February to carry that momentum forward. We must now come together and work to restore Fifa’s credibility and reputation by bringing about the change that is so clearly needed.
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