President of the Jordan Football Association: World football is going through a clear leadership crisis

Jordan Football Association President Prince Ali bin Hussein affirmed that world football is undergoing a clear leadership crisis amid the ongoing controversy surrounding the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), ahead of the upcoming elections. He stressed that an immediate step must be taken: abolishing the secret ballot system in FIFA presidential elections.

He said, “Based on my previous experience in this process, I believe there is one measure that must be implemented immediately: the abolition of secret voting in presidential elections. All other decisions, including the selection of host countries for the World Cup, are now made through public voting, with the exception of the FIFA presidency election.”

He added, “When we elect a president every four years, and a council beside him makes all the decisions, public voting is the only means to ensure our accountability as heads of national associations to football fans, officials, and the players we represent.”

He continued, “At the same time, public voting provides protection for any national association that may face pressure or coercion to make a particular decision behind closed doors, an occurrence that has happened in the past.”

He concluded his statement by saying, “More importantly, public voting will empower each national association to make decisions in the most crucial voting process we have: choosing the leadership of the world’s most popular sport and shaping the direction in which football will move in the future.”