Ali will run FIFA with dignity, transparency: Maradona

Image
IANS Dubai
Last Updated : Feb 15 2016 | 5:43 PM IST

Argentine football legend Diego Maradona on Monday said he believes Jordanian Prince Ali would run world football governing body FIFA "with dignity and transparency" as he lent his support to the presidential candidate.

Ali will battle against five others including Asian Football Confederation (AFC) chief Salman Bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa, South African Tokyo Sexwale, Europe's governing body UEFA's general secretary Gianni Infantino and former FIFA executive Jerome Champagne.

"We want football to be clean, fun and entertaining. The scandals and bribes that happened in FIFA have ruined the image of football and took the heart of it," Maradona was quoted as saying by sport 360.com.

"Our aim is to retain that passion and make people fall in love with football again. Numerous footballing figures have nominated me to run for the FIFA presidency but I refused because I know Prince Ali would be a much better candidate and I am sure he will manage this federation with dignity and transparency," he added.

The 1986 World Cup winner said they would look to take the positives from the previous governance in order to improve the image of the world governing body.

"We will not do an extreme makeover to FIFA as there are some positives that we can take from the previous governance, but we aim to change what is negative in the association and help in improving its image."

*Subscribe to Business Standard digital and get complimentary access to The New York Times

Smart Quarterly

₹900

3 Months

₹300/Month

SAVE 25%

Smart Essential

₹2,700

1 Year

₹225/Month

SAVE 46%
*Complimentary New York Times access for the 2nd year will be given after 12 months

Super Saver

₹3,900

2 Years

₹162/Month

Subscribe

Renews automatically, cancel anytime

Here’s what’s included in our digital subscription plans

Exclusive premium stories online

  • Over 30 premium stories daily, handpicked by our editors

Complimentary Access to The New York Times

  • News, Games, Cooking, Audio, Wirecutter & The Athletic

Business Standard Epaper

  • Digital replica of our daily newspaper — with options to read, save, and share

Curated Newsletters

  • Insights on markets, finance, politics, tech, and more delivered to your inbox

Market Analysis & Investment Insights

  • In-depth market analysis & insights with access to The Smart Investor

Archives

  • Repository of articles and publications dating back to 1997

Ad-free Reading

  • Uninterrupted reading experience with no advertisements

Seamless Access Across All Devices

  • Access Business Standard across devices — mobile, tablet, or PC, via web or app

More From This Section

First Published: Feb 15 2016 | 5:28 PM IST

Next Story