Prince Ali of Jordan is in contention for the post of Fifa president in the upcoming election. Matt Dunham / AP Photo
Prince Ali of Jordan is in contention for the post of Fifa president in the upcoming election. Matt Dunham / AP Photo

Fifa presidential nominee Prince Ali of Jordan blasts ‘irresponsible’ Blatter and Platini



LONDON // Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini were “totally irresponsible” to agree a payment that has brought ignominy to world football, according to Prince Ali bin Al Hussein, who hopes to take over Fifa next month.

The Jordanian crown prince said the global governing body would be heading for a new “catastrophe” if it does not elect the right candidate to succeed Blatter in the vote on February 26.

Eight year bans against Blatter and Platini have left the pair in disgrace and fighting to save their names. Prince Ali said however there was no way they could avoid trouble over a US$2 million (Dh7.34m) payment approved by Blatter to Platini in 2011.

Farewell, Sepp: A look at Blatter at his most blunderous – in pictures

The two football leaders said the payment was for work carried out by Platini for Fifa between 1999 and 2002. Prince Ali said it was the sort of dark practice that had to be rooted out.

“In this day and age, to have an oral agreement is totally irresponsible,” he said. “You have to be open, it has to be accountable. That’s just a normal way of doing business.”

The prince, a former Fifa vice-president, lost to Blatter in an election on May 30 but is standing again as corruption scandals – including the Platini payment – cripple football’s governing body.

Thirty-nine football officials and sports business executives face US charges over more than $200m of bribes for television and marketing deals.

Prince Ali faces opposition from former Fifa official Jerome Champagne, Uefa general secretary Gianni Infantino, South African tycoon Tokyo Sexwale and Asian Football Confederation president Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa. But he insists that he is the right man to clean up Fifa.

“It would be a catastrophe for the organisation if things do not go on the right way,” he told reporters in London after unveiling a new manifesto.

“Having talked to national associations across the world, they recognise that this is an incredibly important moment for the future of the organisation.

“Everybody recognises that this is the last chance to get it right. We don’t want the situation where one year or two years down the line, more scandals come out.

“But I’m determined that we save Fifa and do it from within. There are a lot of good people around the world who want a good, strong and solid Fifa, and I’m one of them.”

Prince Ali’s revised 23-page manifesto includes a limit of two, four-year terms for the president and full publication of the report by former US prosecutor Michael Garcia into bidding for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

He also wants to make Fifa’s multi-billion dollar accounts public and end the practice of “awarding commercial contracts without bids or via a secretive process”, as well as expanding the World Cup from 2026.

The prince said the World Cup bidding process has to be cleaned up after the shadow cast over the 2018 and 2022 tournaments.

He wants Fifa to hold a public vote, rather than the secret ballots in 2010 that awarded the 2018 tournament to Russia and the 2022 event to Qatar. Prince Ali says members should not be allowed to visit candidate countries prior to the vote.

Prince Ali received 73 of the 209 votes from Fifa’s member associations in last year’s election, which Blatter won before announcing he would step down four days later.

He would not disclose how many votes he has been promised this time. But he said he had “broad support from all the different regions in the world”.

Prince Ali is president of the Jordan Football Association, which pits him against AFC chief Salman, who is from Bahrain.

Salman’s manifesto contains a proposal to transform the presidency into a non-executive role, but Prince Ali vowed to be a “hands-on” leader.

“If you are the president of an organisation, you have to take responsiblity for that organisation,” he explained. “I don’t want this organisation to go to a new level of irresponsibility.”

He added: “Something that I’ve learnt, unfortunately, in Fifa and the footballing world is that promises that are made beforehand are not often seen through. I want to be the catalyst to change that.”

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Bookshops: A Reader's History by Jorge Carrión (translated from the Spanish by Peter Bush),
Biblioasis

TEST SQUADS

Bangladesh: Mushfiqur Rahim (captain), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Imrul Kayes, Liton Das, Shakib Al Hasan, Mominul Haque, Nasir Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Mehedi Hasan, Shafiul Islam, Taijul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman and Taskin Ahmed.

Australia: Steve Smith (captain), David Warner, Ashton Agar, Hilton Cartwright, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Matthew Wade, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Matt Renshaw, Mitchell Swepson and Jackson Bird.

Kamindu Mendis bio

Full name: Pasqual Handi Kamindu Dilanka Mendis

Born: September 30, 1998

Age: 20 years and 26 days

Nationality: Sri Lankan

Major teams Sri Lanka's Under 19 team

Batting style: Left-hander

Bowling style: Right-arm off-spin and slow left-arm orthodox (that's right!)

The finalists

Player of the Century, 2001-2020: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Ronaldinho

Coach of the Century, 2001-2020: Pep Guardiola (Manchester City), Jose Mourinho (Tottenham Hotspur), Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid), Sir Alex Ferguson

Club of the Century, 2001-2020: Al Ahly (Egypt), Bayern Munich (Germany), Barcelona (Spain), Real Madrid (Spain)

Player of the Year: Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)

Club of the Year: Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Real Madrid

Coach of the Year: Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta), Hans-Dieter Flick (Bayern Munich), Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)

Agent of the Century, 2001-2020: Giovanni Branchini, Jorge Mendes, Mino Raiola

The Sand Castle

Director: Matty Brown

Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea

Rating: 2.5/5

How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Vidaamuyarchi

Director: Magizh Thirumeni

Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra

Rating: 4/5

 

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GOLF’S RAHMBO

- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)

Other workplace saving schemes
  • The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
  • Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
  • National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
  • In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
  • Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Power: 510hp at 9,000rpm
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Price: From Dh801,800
'Midnights'
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The specs

Price, base / as tested Dh960,000
Engine 3.9L twin-turbo V8 
Transmission Seven-speed dual-clutch automatic
Power 661hp @8,000rpm
Torque 760Nm @ 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 11.4L / 100k

In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
  • Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000 
  • Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000 
  • Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000 
  • Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000 
  • HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000 
  • Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000 
  • Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000 
  • Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000 
  • Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000 
  • Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000 
  • Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000 
  • Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
  • Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
  • Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
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Community Shield info

Where, when and at what time Wembley Stadium in London on Sunday at 5pm (UAE time)

Arsenal line up (3-4-2-1) Petr Cech; Rob Holding, Per Mertesacker, Nacho Monreal; Hector Bellerin, Mohamed Elneny, Granit Xhaka, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain; Alex Iwobi, Danny Welbeck; Alexandre Lacazette

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger

Chelsea line up (3-4-2-1) Thibaut Courtois; Cesar Azpilicueta, David Luiz, Gary Cahill; Victor Moses, Cesc Fabregas, N'Golo Kante, Marcos Alonso; Willian, Pedro; Michy Batshuayi

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte

Referee Bobby Madley

THE SPECS

Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine 

Power: 420kW

Torque: 780Nm

Transmission: 8-speed automatic

Price: From Dh1,350,000

On sale: Available for preorder now

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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
 
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia