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Jordanian Prince Ali to run again for FIFA presidency

Xinhua, September 10, 2015 Adjust font size:

Jordanian Prince Ali Ben Al Hussein said Wednesday he will run again for the FIFA presidency during the elections that will be held on February 26, the state-run Petra news agency reported.

Prince Ali challenged President Sepp Blatter in the elections in May.

Out of the 209 votes cast by member associations in May this year, 206 were finally validated, with 73 going in favor of opposition candidate Prince Ali bin Al Hussein of Jordan, and 133 for Blatter.

As neither candidate reached two-third majority, the election was poised to go to a second round where a simple majority would have sufficed to clinch the presidency.

Al Hussein, the only challenger to the 79-year-old Swiss who was standing for a fifth consecutive term, decided against going for a second ballot and withdrew from the race, automatically giving Blatter the presidency for the next four years.

These results come amid tumultuous times for the football federation following the arrest of seven high-profile FIFA officials in May by Swiss police in Zurich on the request of U.S. authorities. Enditem