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Who Is Prince Ali And Can He Beat Blatter?

He is the last man standing, the only person who can stop Sepp Blatter becoming FIFA president for a fifth time.

Few thought Prince Ali bin al Hussein of Jordan stood a chance in Friday's election - until the organisation was thrust into another corruption scandal with the arrest of several top executives .

Now backed by UEFA, his task suddenly seems achievable: win the support of 25 non-UEFA delegates and he will prevent Mr Blatter earning the two-thirds majority required to win in the first round.

The 39-year-old would not symbolise a clean slate for FIFA. He currently serves as one of seven vice presidents, representing Asia.

But his style and rhetoric could not be more different from that of the current president.

"We want to get to a day when people don't even know who the president of FIFA is," he said in an interview with The New York Times.

"When that happens, we will know that the organisation is being run the right way and with the right priorities."

While Mr Blatter has presided over world football since 1998, Prince Ali claims he would stay for one term only.

"I want to get in there, make the changes that need to be made and then get out of the way."

Prince Ali is the son of the late King Hussein of Jordan and brother of the current King Abdullah II.

According to his official website, he is the 43rd generation direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad.

While Mr Blatter's background is in PR and sport, Prince Ali has spent much of his career in the military after attending the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst in the UK.

Last month, the presidential candidate left FIFA colleagues to meet the family of Moaz al Kasasbeh, the Jordanian pilot who was captured, tortured and killed by Islamic State.

It is perhaps fitting, given the role for which he is standing, that he established and directed the National Centre for Security and Crisis Management in Jordan.

Now Prince Ali is pledging to end the crisis surrounding football's governing body.

Following the arrests of executives including vice president Jeffery Webb, the father-of-two promised he would bring "leadership that governs, guides and protects our national associations and accepts responsibility for its actions and does not pass blame".

Notable among his achievements at FIFA was lifting the ban on women wearing hijabs while playing football in 2010.

Prince Ali, who is also the chairman of the Board of the Royal Film Commission and president of the Jordan Football Association, announced his candidacy in January, pledging to "shift the focus away from administrative controversy and back to sport".

Since then, Real Madrid legend Luis Figo, former Tottenham star David Ginola, Dutch sports director Michael van Praag and former FIFA deputy general secretary Jerome Champagne have all withdrawn from the race, leaving Prince Ali as the only alternative to another four years of the blighted Mr Blatter.