RPT-FACTBOX-Soccer-Prince Ali of Jordan, FIFA presidential candidate

May 21, 2015 6:45 AM

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LONDON, May 21 (Reuters) - Factbox of Jordan's Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein, one of the three men challenging Sepp Blatter for the FIFA presidency at this month's election.

* Born in Amman on Dec. 23, 1975, he is the third son of the late King Hussein of Jordan. His mother Queen Alia died in a helicopter crash in February 1977 when he was 14 months old. * His Algerian-born wife is a former television journalist and they have two children. * Price Ali was educated in Jordan, the United States and Britain and holds the rank of Major General in the Jordanian Armed Forces. * He became president of the Jordan Football Association in 1999 and a year later, he founded the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF). * He successfully campaigned to lift the ban on female Islamic players wearing headscarves in competitions. * In 2011, he was elected FIFA vice president for Asia, becoming the youngest member of the executive board at the age of 35. He was also elected vice president of the Asian Football Confederation. * His sister, Princess Haya, served two terms as president of the international equestrian federation and their half-brother, Prince Faisal, is a member of the International Olympic Committee.

* Ali will only remain on the FIFA executive committee if he wins the presidential election. His confederation, the AFC have changed their statutes with the vice-presidency seat Ali occupied now allocated to the president of the Asian confederation. Ali did not contest the seats open to ordinary members.

* His FIFA election manifesto: Prince Ali states in his manifesto "A FIFA Worthy of the World's Game" he wants to "turn the pyramid upside down" giving more power to "the national associations, players, coaches, officials, fans and sponsors."

He sets out a detailed programme to "restore FIFA's credibilty" with a review of how the World Cup places are allocated, establishing a "formal continental rotation system."

* William Hill odds for victory: 20-1

(Reporting by Mike Collett; Editing by Douglas Beattie)

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