Prince Ali Hits Out at FIFA

Prince Ali bin Al Hussein, President of the Jordan Football Association, has issued sharp criticisms towards FIFA, discussing several issues that he claims the Jordanian federation faced during the national team's historic participation in the World Cup for the first time.

Prince Ali stated that the Jordanian Federation, as a sports federation in a small country with a limited budget, has had to deal with "huge obstacles," pointing out that one of the most prominent issues has been the entry of Jordanian fans into the United States.

It was clarified that a number of Jordanian fans did not receive entry visas to the United States despite holding tickets for the matches, while also noting the rising ticket prices.

The Jordanian Football Federation is also facing tax burdens imposed by the U.S. government via FIFA for participating in the tournament, considering that this money should have gone to the players and members of the technical and administrative staff.

Prince Ali noted that this issue did not affect the teams that held their matches and training camps in Canada and Mexico, explaining that Jordan's presence in the United States has led to what he described as "huge" tax costs.

The President of the Jordanian Football Federation has revealed another crisis concerning the financial bonuses related to the national team's participation in the Arab Cup 2025 in Qatar, confirming that the federation has been waiting since December for the funds owed to the team after reaching the final.

He stated that this money is tied to a tournament associated with 'FIFA', while the international organization claims to possess billions of dollars in reserves.

However, Prince Ali went further than financial and organizational criticisms when he spoke about his position on Gianni Infantino's leadership of FIFA.

He stated that FIFA had refused, for months, to assist the Jordan Football Association with these issues and others, before being contacted verbally during the World Cup, according to his account, and being informed that support for Infantino would lead to assistance for the Jordan Football Association.

Prince Ali stated: "We take pride in Jordan's commitment to ethical values. We have never supported him before and we certainly will not do so now."

He considered what happened to be, from his perspective, "extortion," emphasizing that the Jordanian Federation "refuses to submit to it."

Prince Ali's remarks come in light of Jordan's historic participation in the World Cup, marking the national team's first appearance in the global finals, amid great aspirations for Jordanian football on the international stage.