How May USA's Support Of Prince Ali Impact Future WC Host Rights?

posted on: Feb 10, 2015

Last week, the U.S. Soccer Federation did something bold, admirable and more than a little bit risky: It broke from a long tradition of playing it safe in FIFA politics and took a public stand against FIFA president Sepp Blatter by nominating Jordan’s Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein in the FIFA presidential election that will take place in May.

The decision by U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati was the right thing to do—Prince Ali, a FIFA vice president, is a reformer; Blatter, the king of patronage sports politics, is clearly not—but it’s a move that could also cost the U.S. one of Gulati’s crown jewels: The hosting rights for World Cup 2026.

What are the forces in play here? Let’s break it down:

Q: Why is it surprising that U.S. Soccer would take on Blatter?

A: Well, the USSF has voted for Blatter in all four of his FIFA campaigns, starting in 1998 and continuing through 2002, ‘07 and ‘11. Those votes weren’t necessarily because Blatter was a terrific leader. After all, he wouldn’t have become FIFA president in the first place without the support and vote-wrangling of some of the dirtiest figures in global sports, guys like Jack Warner and Mohamed Bin Hammam (who have since been banned from FIFA).

Source: www.si.com