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Canada to say no to current FIFA boss

Xinhua, May 29, 2015 Adjust font size:

The President of the Canadian Soccer Association, Victor Montagliani, said on Thursday that his country could not support FIFA president Sepp Blatter to continue his duty.

Montagliani said he would instead vote for Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan, Blatter's only opponent - in Friday's presidential vote at the FIFA Congress in Zurich.

He said the decision to support Prince Ali was made at a Canadian association's board meeting Thursday.

Blatter was under shadow for a string of indictments this week from the U.S. Department of Justice that alleged bribery and corruption by senior FIFA executives, even though he himself had not been named in any indictments.

"I think organizations need a refresh and we need to govern the game in a better way," Montagliani said in a statement late Thursday. "This is also a comment to the FIFA executive committee. It's not just (about) one person. The game deserves better."

"This is our position, this is our stance and I think for the first time in a long time, Canadian soccer is taking the leadership role in soccer that it has been talking about taking for a long time," said the Vancouver-based soccer association president. Endi