FIFA cannot be credible while Blatter leads — Prince Ali

GENEVA — FIFA cannot make credible changes in the last months of Sepp Blatter's leadership of the scandal-hit body, former presidential candidate HRH Prince Ali said Monday.

Prince Ali also cast doubt on the worth of FIFA's in-house reforms task force which is supported by Michel Platini, his former ally and now front-runner to succeed Blatter in the February 26 election.

"I don't think anybody will take any decisions that are credible in the current situation," Prince Ali told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Monday.

"I think that the important thing is that you need an overall change in leadership," said the prince, who described Platini as "not good for FIFA" when the UEFA president launched his campaign two weeks ago. "The entire football world would like to see a change."

Still, Prince Ali has not committed to making a second bid to be president and enact that change.

"Right now I'm talking to our national associations, listening to their opinions," said the prince, who got votes from 73 of FIFA's 209 member federations when Blatter won re-election in May.

Within four days, Blatter announced he would leave office under pressure from dual American and Swiss federal investigations of corruption that finally drove World Cup sponsors to demand a change of culture at FIFA.

Prince Ali could outline campaign plans on September 7 as a keynote speaker at the Soccerex conference in Manchester, England.

"It's a place where I will obviously want to present my ideas for what I think is best for the organisation," said the prince, who served as Asia's FIFA vice president for four years until May.

September shapes as busy for FIFA politics though the deadline for presidential contenders to file nomination papers is not until October 26.

On September 15-16, UEFA members who mostly supported Prince Ali against Blatter will meet in Malta and can expect to hear details of their president Platini's manifesto for FIFA.

Prince Ali declined to comment on possibly stepping on Platini's turf during that two-day session. It is one of few scheduled meetings where large numbers of FIFA voters will gather before the election congress in Zurich.

On September 24-25, Blatter will chair an executive committee meeting in Zurich where FIFA has promised "concrete and comprehensive reform proposals" from the task force whose 11-member line-up is yet to be announced.

FIFA has asked former IOC director general Francois Carrard to lead a team of officials put forward by the six confederations.

"We need to have a real and independent task force," Prince Ali said.