The Jordanian Fifa presidential candidate Prince Ali bin al-Hussein has said he will not reopen the bidding processes for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups if he wins control of world football.
The controversial tournaments have been under constant scrutiny since the vote in December 2010. Qatar has come under pressure for the way in which it won the race and over conditions for migrant workers building the infrastructure required to host the 2022 tournament.
Russia is staging the 2018 tournament against the backdrop of systemic doping claims that have seen the country barred from athletics. “As far as I’m concerned, I will accept and support the World Cup happening in Russia and Qatar. But a lot of steps need to be taken and I would make sure they were implemented,” Prince Ali said.
When then Fifa ethics committee investigator Michael Garcia attempted to ask questions about its conduct during the bid, Russia claimed its rented computers had been lost and the hard drives destroyed.
“I think every country in the world has the right to host the World Cup. I’ve said that many times. That’s the key point,” Prince Ali said. “However we have to guarantee that major issues around human rights and labour laws are implemented. They have said they are going to do it but Fifa needs to guarantee that it is done. At the same time we have to ensure that certain issues like the double bid don’t happen again.”
Prince Ali, who lost out to Sepp Blatter by 133 votes to 73 in May’s election, said he was not minded to reopen the bidding process for the 2022 tournament unless fresh evidence emerges. “I do believe they have the right to host it and we do need a celebration in our part of the world.”
Qatar has failed to introduce meaningful reform to its labour laws despite huge international pressure since a series of Guardian reports on the issue, but has improved working conditions for those constructing World Cup stadiums. “They have said they are committed to dealing with the issue of labour laws but it has to be consistent,” Prince Ali said.
He said he was unconcerned about the recent doping revelations in Russia as they relate to athletics but would seek assurances from Vitaly Mutko, the Russian sports minister and Fifa executive committee member, if elected. “We haven’t seen anything to do with football, we are focused on football. Obviously within football doping is a very big concern. We have to tackle other issues including match-fixing.”
Perhaps for reasons of political expediency, Prince Ali said he “would not back proposals by the [Fifa] reform committee headed by François Carrard that proposed diluting the power of the Fifa executive committee, making it more of advisory parliament and handing power over commercial decisions to the executive.
But he said he backed other proposals including term limits, transparency over salaries and the publication of executive-committee minutes.
Prince Ali, who is seeking to replace Blatter after the president stood down days into his fifth term because of a deepening corruptions crisis, is one of five candidates for the February election.
He called on Fifa’s electoral committee to police rules that forbid confederation heads or senior figures from trying to influence voters. “I have to have trust and faith to ensure this is a proper election process. They can express an opinion but they are not allowed to pressure their associations,” he said.
The Bahraini Asian Football Confederation president Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa has already said any candidate without the backing of a confederation will find it extremely hard to win.
Among Prince Ali’s other rivals is Gianni Infantino, the Uefa general secretary who entered the race when Michel Platini was suspended from football for 90 days, and Tokyo Sexwale, a South African politician turned businessman.
Prince Ali called on individual FAs to make their own decisions and insisted he could swing enough support to win. “Make your own decision and don’t worry about external pressures. That’s how it should be,” he said.
Prince Ali, who has criticised his former backer Platini in the past, refused to comment directly on his rivals but said only he himself could bring the change Fifa requires, despite having served on the Fifa executive committee from 2011 to 2015.
“I won’t comment on individuals. What I will focus on is that we need a change of culture. That is why I was running from the start, to make the change that is needed. I made the conscious decision that I couldn’t remain on the executive committee under the circumstances and the only way to make that change was to make the change at the top.”
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