THE BLOG BY CPD FOOTBALL | The World of Indian football and beyond by Chris Punnakkattu Daniel

Global Football Industry vote for Prince Ali to be the next FIFA President

FIFA

FIFA

HRH Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein has come up on top in a recent Soccerex poll asking the football industry who they think should be the next President of FIFA. Conducted on Soccerex’s website over a seven day period building up to Monday’s extraordinary congress, the poll was targeted at Soccerex’s football business audience and was promoted via email to over 30,000 contacts worldwide and pushed through social media platforms to a further 20,000 followers.

Prince Ali had the majority with 29.66% majority of the vote. Luis Figo (22.18%) and Michel Platini (21.05%) following in a close second and third place. Zico received 7.91% and Michael Van Praag received 5.08%. The option to vote “other” drew 9.32%. Current President Joseph S. Blatter, who on Monday confirmed he will be leaving his role, received 4.8%.

Prince Ali’s success in the poll follows the announcement from Soccerex last week that His Royal Highness will be giving an exclusive interview as part of the Soccerex Global Convention 2015, 7-9 September, Manchester.

With the announcement at Monday’s FIFA press conference that football’s governing body will vote for a new leader on the 26th February 2016, Prince Ali’s session at Soccerex, will take place at a crucial stage before the elective Congress and will give the football industry the unique opportunity to hear directly from the man in pole position to lead FIFA into a new era.

Soccerex CEO Duncan Revie said: “The poll paints an interesting picture of what the industry is thinking right now and it is very exciting to have the current favourite to be the next FIFA President speaking at our Global Convention in Manchester. It will be a fascinating insight into Prince Ali’s view on the state of football and how he sees its future developing and it will be my personal pleasure to once again welcome His Royal Highness to a Soccerex event”.

The Soccerex Global Convention brings together over 3000 of football’s elite for three days of networking and business value. In addition to the insight provided by the conference programme, the event offers alongside a market-leading international exhibition and unrivalled networking opportunities. A programme of social events completes the schedule for what is widely acknowledged as the world’s leading football business event.