Zurich ( Agencies + DIPLOMAT.SO) – Luis Figo and Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein have announced that they have met the minimum requirement of five nominations from national associations in their bids for Fifa presidency.
The former Portugal star and the president of the Jordanian FA are among six men who have confirmed their intention to stand for office at May’s election, including current president Sepp Blatter.
All candidates needed to enter the names of five national FAs which were willing to nominate them for election ahead of the deadline for January 29 at midnight, and Figo revealed that he met the requirement on Thursday.
“I am very happy to confirm that my six nominations were delivered to Fifa this week ahead of the deadline,” the ex-Barcelona, Real Madrid and Inter winger announced via Twitter.
“I’d like to thank my colleagues and friends from the nominating FAs and across the football family who have already given me their backing.”
While he did not confirm which associations had backed him for the position, it is believed that Portugal, Denmark, Montenegro, Macedonia, Luxembourg and Poland were the half-dozen who leant their weight to the 42-year-old’s campaign.
And Prince Ali was quick to follow suit, using his Twitter page to confirm his own nominations had been submitted.
“Very honoured to have received the National Association nominations that permit me to enter the Fifa presidential race,” he tweeted on Friday.
“Looking forward to a constructive debate about the future of Fifa and how it can be improved.”
Figo and Prince Ali have been joined in the race by Blatter, Jerome Champagne, David Ginola and Michael van Praag, but so far no other candidates have confirmed whether they have met Fifa’s requirements by the deadline.
The world governing body will confirm the final list of candidates during February after its Electoral Committee has studied the submitted paperwork.
