Jordan's football association president, Prince Ali bin Hussein, has announced that the national team's players and staff have finally received their prize money for participating in the 2025 Arab Cup. The statement comes just two days after he accused FIFA of blackmail.
Ali criticized FIFA President Gianni Infantino after he backed out of his proposal to sell a stake in the World Cup and came under pressure from confederations and national associations. Ali alleged that FIFA offered to help solve the kingdom's problems in exchange for his endorsement.
One of the issues he highlighted was the association's eight-month wait for prize money since reaching the Arab Cup final in Qatar last December. "Thank you to the FIFA administration for suddenly this morning delivering what was owed to our players and coaching staff, for the Jordan National team's accession to the final of the FIFA Arab Cup in Qatar last December," Ali wrote on X on Thursday. "This was funding that should have been received eight months ago."
Ali further claimed that during the World Cup, FIFA verbally communicated that backing the president "would go a long way to helping our FA out." FIFA has not responded to requests for comment on these allegations.
While acknowledging the receipt of funds as a welcome development, Ali stressed that it would not alter his organization's concerns about FIFA's leadership. "It is symptomatic of those exact difficulties that we all face and that are usually linked to the FIFA presidential elections," he added. "And it does not change my clear position concerning the leadership of FIFA: my FA and I will not endorse President Infantino, nor will we vote for him."
FIFA has apologized to its members for mistakes made over its abandoned proposal to sell commercial rights to the World Cup, but the body's leadership reaffirmed its support for Infantino after a crisis meeting in Morocco on Wednesday. Infantino is seeking to extend his decade-long presidency into a fourth and final term in an election scheduled for March.
Source: www.aljazeera.com