Gianni Infantino faces fresh backlash from Jordan FA president Prince Ali

Jordan Football Association president Prince Ali bin Al Hussein has accused FIFA president Gianni Infantino of using “blackmail” to pressure Jordan into supporting his bid for re-election.

The allegation is the latest development in the growing controversy surrounding Infantino, who has come under increased scrutiny after FIFA was forced to abandon its disputed FIFA Forward Enterprise investment plan.

The proposal was intended to allow private-sector investors to acquire commercial rights in FIFA competitions, including the World Cup. It was withdrawn after widespread criticism and threats to boycott FIFA tournaments. The Football Association and Football Association of Wales have also withdrawn their support for Infantino’s re-election.

Prince Ali made the claims in a statement posted on X, in which he said the Jordanian federation had experienced a number of difficulties during its historic first appearance at the World Cup.

He said FIFA had offered no assistance in resolving those issues, including problems faced by Jordanian supporters trying to travel to the United States.

“Thousands of Jordanian fans faced difficulties obtaining visas to enter the United States despite having match tickets,” Prince Ali said, while also criticising the sharp rise in ticket prices.

He added that Jordan’s national team had been required to pay taxes to the United States government through FIFA because its training camp was based in the country. According to Prince Ali, the money should instead have gone to the players and coaching staff.

He also said teams based in Canada or Mexico did not face the same financial burden.

Jordan’s players have also yet to receive prize money for finishing runners-up at the 2025 Arab Cup, a FIFA-organised tournament held in Qatar, he claimed. Several months have passed since the competition, with Prince Ali questioning FIFA’s failure to make the payments despite the governing body frequently highlighting its substantial financial reserves.

Prince Ali says support was linked to election backing

Prince Ali alleged that FIFA’s leadership connected assistance for the Jordan Football Association with a public declaration of support for Infantino in the next presidential election.

“For months FIFA refused to help us with these issues, until I was told verbally during the World Cup that my support for Infantino would greatly help resolve the Jordan federation’s problems,” he said.

He added: “We in Jordan are proud of our ethical values. We did not support him before, and certainly will not support him now, because what happened amounts to ‘blackmail’, and we will not submit to such pressure.”

Prince Ali has previously been one of Infantino’s most prominent challengers. He stood for the FIFA presidency in 2016, having also contested the 2015 election against former FIFA president Sepp Blatter.

Alongside his role as president of the Jordan Football Association, Prince Ali is president and founder of the West Asian Football Federation. The organisation has 12 national associations among its members, including Iraq, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

The dispute comes as Infantino faces mounting pressure over both FIFA’s proposed commercial investment strategy and his campaign for another term as president.