Prince Ali bin Al Hussein has accused FIFA of trying to blackmail the Jordan Football Association into backing Gianni Infantino’s re-election campaign. In a social media post, the Jordan FA president claimed FIFA only started offering help with a string of problems after it was made clear that supporting Infantino “would go a long way.”
Jordan’s issues piled up around their first-ever World Cup appearance. Fans with tickets struggled to get US visas. Players and staff were hit with unexpected American tax bills that teams based in Canada and Mexico apparently avoided. And the federation is still waiting for prize money from last December’s Arab Cup final.
Prince Ali said FIFA had been unhelpful for months until the verbal message arrived during the tournament. He made his position clear: Jordan did not back Infantino before and will not now.
“We pride ourselves in Jordan in upholding ethical values… the whole situation amounts to blackmail and we refuse to give in to that,” he wrote.
There is no shortage of issues regarding FIFA. Let me start by clarifying what some of these are from an FA perspective, in particular that of Jordan going into a World Cup for the first time. We are a small country with a minimal budget for our FA and had to deal with enormous…
— Ali Al Hussein (@AliBinAlHussein) August 4, 2026
The timing is awkward for Infantino. His plan to sell off a stake in World Cup commercial rights collapsed last week amid fierce opposition, and several associations have already pulled or cooled their support for another term. Prince Ali, who ran against him in 2015 and 2016, has never been shy about criticising FIFA’s leadership. FIFA has not responded to this so far.
How FIFA's private investment proposal sparked a clash with UEFA
The issue began after FIFA proposed creating a new company that would allow private investors to buy a stake in the commercial rights of competitions such as the FIFA World Cup. UEFA was among the strongest critics of the idea, arguing that football's biggest tournaments should remain under the control of the sport rather than private financial groups. UEFA had pledged to boycott FIFA competitions until the idea was scrapped and intensified pressure on Infantino by declaring he had "lost the confidence" of European football's governing. After resistance from several UEFA member associations, FIFA eventually dropped the plan. UEFA had also written to Infantino confirming it is actively considering legal action over the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) plan.
In addition to UEFA, Concacaf, which governs football in North, Central America and the Caribbean, and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), also spoke out against the plans. Infantino had sought approval from national associations to establish FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), a company which would oversee the commercial and operational aspects of its competitions, including the men's and women's World Cups. The dispute has strained relations between FIFA and some of its member associations.
