Reports from the Netherlands say Luis Figo and Michael Van Praag will withdraw from the FIFA Presidential race in order to throw more support behind Jordanian Prince Ali Bin al-Hussein, who will be the main opponent to longtime FIFA President Sepp Blatter in the May 29th election.
The Dutch newspaper De Volksrant was first to report the development, citing sources close to FIFA. Bermuda Football Association President Larry Mussenden will head the Committee that will oversee the FIFA Elections on May 29th.
“We can confirm that there have been discussions between the candidates regarding the possibility to join forces. Our shared, collective goal is to achieve change within FIFA. It is good that there is a growing international coalition striving for that goal. That is our main focus now. It is too soon to talk about which candidate might have the biggest chance,” a source close to Van Praag told World Football Insider.
Van Praag, chairman of the Dutch football association, announced his intention to run against Blatter in January.
The three candidates reportedly met in Switzerland last week to discuss massing their votes in an attempt to unseat Blatter, who has been FIFA president since 1998 and has long been the target of accusations about FIFA’s ethics. Even if Van Praag and Figo rally support behind al-Hussein, Blatter still is expected to easily win another term as FIFA president.
However, al-Hussein is seen as the candidate with the best chance at the upset. The Princeton-educated Jordanian served on FIFA’s executive committee for four years.
A spokesman for Figo, the former FIFA player of the year, denied to Reuters that any deal was in place and also said he would not be traveling to the Netherlands on Thursday for a joint news conference with Van Praag and al-Hussein. However, the spokesman stopped short of denying that Figo would drop out of the race.
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