The honourable path

HRH Prince Ali withdrew his nomination before the start of the second round of election for a new FIFA president.

The first round got him 73 votes and 133 to his opponent, Sepp Blatter.

This was the performance of a real prince, a nobleman’s reaction. It was one of the very rare international events when one could witness a great victory deriving from loss.

The prince realised after the first round of elections that the world of football is still not ready to walk the honourable path that this game deserves.

By withdrawing, he slammed the door shut on a position tainted by scandals that 133 countries out of 206 still voted to keep.

By withdrawing, the prince gained at three important levels: kept his royal integrity, which, without doubt, has increased his popularity, at least amongst the people of Jordan and perhaps worldwide; evaded the remote possibility of becoming the president of a corrupt FIFA that 133 countries want unchanged; keeps his naturally good relations with all member states, including those who did not vote for him.

In a world full of corruption in almost every aspect, and our countries are no exception — add to it the high level of ignorance amongst our peoples, which has been usually used as a weapon against us, by our enemy, who planned and instigated the wars that we waged upon each other and which are ravaging our countries and destroying our civilisation, all because of corruption — it is delightful to see that there are still men in our countries that choose to walk the honourable path.

Nidal Khoury,
Amman