Published August 5th, 2026 - 07:55 GMT
ALBAWABA - Prince Ali bin Hussein, former FIFA vice-president and current head of Jordan’s Football Association says FIFA Arab Cup prize money is being withheld in a blackmail tactic.The FIFA Arab Cup, which concluded in a tense final between Jordan and Morocco where Morocco won 2-3 in overtime, was held in Qatar in 2025.The victory earned Morocco $7.1 million in prize money with runners-up Jordan winning $4.29 million, it’s this prize money that is being withheld from Jordan according to the nation’s royal.Prince Ali had a lot to say about FIFA and Infantino in a post he made on X, saying:"The money our team should receive for having reached the final has not been delivered yet," Prince Ali wrote, "while at the same time FIFA brags about how many billions they have in reserve.""It is clear the problem really is with leadership. For months, FIFA has been refusing to help us on any of these or other matters," he said.Infantino is currently under pressure, trying to save his 11-year presidency as UEFA threatens a boycott of FIFA games, events and meetings, while North American soccer body CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation, of which Jordan is a member, have both spoken out against Infantino.Regarding the prize money, the royal said:“It was verbally communicated to me during the World Cup that if I endorsed Infantino it would go a long way to helping our FA out.”There is no shortage of issues regarding FIFA. Let me start by clarifying what some of these are from an FA perspective, in particular that of Jordan going into a World Cup for the first time. We are a small country with a minimal budget for our FA and had to deal with enormous…— Ali Al Hussein (@AliBinAlHussein) August 4, 2026 Prince Ali was elected to serve on FIFA's ruling executive committee from 2011 to 2015, and stood against then-president Sepp Blatter in a May 2015 election;“We pride ourselves in Jordan in upholding ethical values. We did not endorse him before and certainly will not now,“But the whole situation amounts to blackmail, and we refuse to give in to that," the Jordanian royal wrote.
