Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein to Challenge Sepp Blatter for FIFA Presidency

It's been confirmed that Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein will run against Sepp Blatter in his bid to unseat the current FIFA president.

BBC Sport reported on Tuesday that vice-president Prince Ali—at 39, he's half Blatter's age—will oppose the incumbent, quoting the Jordanian royal regarding his challenge for the presidential position:

It is time to shift the focus away from administrative controversy and back to sport. The headlines should be about football, not about FIFA 

The message I heard, over and over, was that it is time for a change. The world game deserves a world-class governing body - an international federation that is a service organisation and a model of ethics, transparency and good governance.

Blatter has reigned as FIFA president since 1998, on numerous occasions facing opposition for the chair but managing to emerge as victor on each of those occasions.

However, at 78 years of age, his running of world football's governing body has come into question, with Football Association chairman Greg Dyke joining UEFA president Michel Platini in supporting Prince Ali, per Sky Sports:

As a member of the Jordanian royal family, Prince Ali wouldn't be quick to stake his reputation on the line if he were to win the election, undoubtedly eager to maintain a pristine image.

As BBC Sport's report mentions, the newly announced candidate was one of those officials who gave his backing for Michael Garcia's findings regarding the investigation of corruption surrounding the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids to be made public.

Asian Football Confederation vice-president Prince Ali is joined by Jerome Champagne as the only other official to have raised their name to run against Blatter.