Prince Ali urges release of Garcia report: ‘We have one chance to get things right’ at Fifa

Jordanian Prince and President of Jordan Football Association Ali bin al-Hussein (2R) speaks with an United Arab Emirates official as Barcelona's President Josep Maria Bartomeu (L) speaks with Sheikh Ahmad Bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the son of the ruler of Dubai during the opening session of the 10th edition of Dubai International Sports Conference in Dubai on December 27, 2015. AFP PHOTO / MARWAN NAAMANIShow less

DUBAI // Prince Ali bin Hussein, one of the Fifa presidential candidates, has called for the publication of Michael Garcia’s report on alleged bribery and corruption during bidding for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

The former Fifa vice president in Asia was speaking as part of the Dubai International Sports Conference taking place at Madinat Jumeirah.

He said that the Garcia report should be made public because “even those who are running for the position of Fifa president ... need to know what has been going on in this organisation, and the public needs to know as well.”

Former US prosecutor Garcia resigned as Fifa’s chief corruption investigator last year in protest at the body’s handling of his report on the decisions to award the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 World Cup to Qatar.

Garcia said he had found “serious and wide-ranging issues” in the bidding process for both of the World Cups.

Gallery: Barcelona's Lionel Messi meets Sheikh Mohammed at Dubai Sports Conference

He had complained that a summary of his report released by Fifa’s top judge, Hans-Joachim Eckert, was “incomplete and erroneous”.

Eckert had said there was no evidence of corruption and that there should be no new vote on the venue for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

Fifa has defended its refusal to publish Garcia’s report on the grounds it would undermine a promise to all those who gave evidence on condition of anonymity.

Prince Ali was speaking in Dubai alongside Uefa general secretary Gianni Infantino, another candidate in the race to be elected the head of world football’s governing body on February 26.

He said the election was a major chance for Fifa to make a step in the right direction

“I do believe that we have one chance to get things right,” Prince Ali said. “It’s very crucial that we have to talk about governance and how to bring this organisation, and it’s mentality, into the 21st century. In terms of governance we have to be open, to be transparent. In reality, these are the basic norms expected of us. Some don’t go far enough, for example, the maximum two-term for presidency must be implemented.”

Gary Meenaghan's year in review: In sport, fair play principles take a hard fall

Though he lost the last, farcical election which confirmed Sepp Blatter as president for a fifth term before the incumbent was forced to step down days later, Prince Ali, believes he is the man to take football back to the people and bring credibility to Fifa again.

“We have to inverse the pyramid and put the priorities of players and clubs at top,” he said. “There need to be a lot more given in terms of development. You cannot have a drip feed system. A few years ago I looked at a study, and this is my concern, there are more pitches in Norway than the entire continent of Asia put together.”

He also believes that Fifa should be looking to invest in people and not just infrastructure.

“I’d like to see a scholarship system in Fifa, it should not be only about facilities but about the human side as well,” he said. “I’d like to see local coaches get experience by going to Europe, by attaching themselves to clubs in Europe. There is a lot of things we can do. We should have national stadiums in every country which is not the case at the moment.”

* With agencies