GENEVA - Aiming to end Sepp Blatters 17-year grip on power at FIFA, Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein has a daunting task. Bill Ranford Jersey .The 39-year-old prince from Jordan announced Tuesday he will be a candidate for the FIFA presidency even though five of the six continental confederations have already declared their support for Blatter.The rebellious region — European governing body UEFA — holds only 53 of the 209 votes and includes traditionally loyal Blatter supporters among former Soviet republics.Prince Ali also cannot be sure of widespread support within his home Asian Football Confederation, where he faces an awkward election in May before FIFAs decision day.Still, the prince represents a genuine choice for FIFA voters who truly want to freshen the culture of an organization rocked by scandals on Blatters watch.Elected by Asian members as their FIFA vice-president in January 2011, Prince Ali is untouched by the allegations of bribery and favour-seeking that tainted many of his colleagues on the much-discredited, Blatter-chaired executive committee, which he formally joined later that year.This was not an easy decision, the prince said in a single-page statement in which he pledged to run a positive campaign and did not specifically mention Blatter. It came after careful consideration and many discussions with respected FIFA colleagues over the last few months.The message I heard, over and over, was that it is time for a change.Prince Ali has been encouraged to run by UEFA President Michel Platini, who opted last year to avoid an expected challenge to his onetime mentor Blatter.I know Prince Ali well. He has all the credibility required to hold high office, the France great said in a statement. We now await his proposals and his program for the future of football.FIFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Blatters office.Prince Ali is considered the main challenger to Blatter. Jerome Champagne of France, a former FIFA staffer and longtime ally of Blatter, has also announced his intention to run.During Blatters 17-year reign, he has avoided personal scandal amid bribery allegations in presidential and World Cup hosting elections, kickbacks paid to senior officials, and World Cup ticket scams.Blatter has also mastered the politics of an often secretive organization he joined in 1975, a few months before Prince Ali was born. The veteran Swiss official has said his mission to lead world football is unfinished.That mission is fuelled by a runway popular and commercial success of FIFAs cash cow, the World Cup.The worlds most-watched sports event has given FIFA $1.5 billion in cash reserves with plenty more to give members and confederations every four years ahead of election day.Rest assured, the 11 members in this room are the first in line, Oceania confederation president David Chung said last June, pledging his voters support to Blatter in Sao Paulo, Brazil.Its against this culture — and Blatters long relationship with voters, such as the 54 in Africa who have little contact with Jordan — that Prince Ali must compete.Prince Ali did not specify which five FIFA members will nominate him, as required before a Jan. 29 deadline. He travelled Tuesday to Australia for the Asian Cup, which kicks off Friday after an AFC congress in Melbourne.AFC president Sheik Salman Bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa of Bahrain pledged its backing for Blatter at a 60th anniversary celebration at Manila in November, confirming earlier support in Brazil.It was a unanimous decision, Salman said at the time. We never go back on our words and commitments, thats how we are.Last June in Brazil, Sheik Salman also effectively manoeuvred Prince Ali out of his FIFA vice presidency by tying that role to the AFC presidency at future elections. Those are next due in May, when Prince Ali should contest an ordinary FIFA board seat as one of Asias four elected delegates.While others in Asia have shaped internal politics, Prince Ali has taken a more personal path in development projects for youth and womens football. Previously, he led a successful campaign to lift a FIFA ban on female Islamic players wearing headscarves in its competitions.The theme of public service follows a Jordanian royal family tradition for the son of the late King Hussein and the late Queen Alia, who died in a helicopter crash in 1977.Educated at schools in England and the United States, Prince Ali attended the elite Sandhurst military academy in England before joining his countrys armed forces.His sister, Princess Haya, stepped down last month as an International Olympic Committee member after eight years as president of equestrians governing body, and their half-brother Prince Faisal remains an IOC member.Prince Ali was a vocal supporter of FIFA ethics prosecutor Michael Garcia, who resigned last month with a parting shot at Blatters leadership style and the organizations seeming unwillingness to reform.On Tuesday, Prince Ali called for shifting focus away from administrative controversy and back to sport.The worlds game deserves a world-class governing body — an international federation that is a service organization and a model of ethics, transparency and good governance, Prince Ali said.However noble the aim, it is unclear that FIFA voters feel the same way. 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"I thought we played a little bit as expected as it is our first playoff game," Toronto coach Dwane Casey said.LEVI, Finland - Henrik Kristoffersen of Norway won the World Cup mens slalom opener, beating the world champion Marcel Hirscher by 0.12 seconds in foggy conditions on Sunday.The 20-year-old Kristoffersen had a combined time of 1 minute, 50.39 seconds, after the Austrian led after the first run on the Finnish Arctic slope in Levi.Germanys Felix Neureuther — eighth after the first run — finished third, 1.31 seconds behind Kristoffersen. Sebastian-Foss Solevaag of Norway came fourth.Olympic champion Mario Matt of Austria failed to finish after his boot hit the snow, causing him to slide off the course in the first run.Kristoffersen, who was just six-hundredths-of-a-second behind Hirscher after the first run, surged ahead with the days fastest time 54.31 as the northern darkness set in.Im probably never going to do a perfect run, he said. Its always possible to ski faster, and theres always things you can do better.The Norwegian was rewarded with 29,000 euros ($36,000) in prize money and a live reindeer from the local Lapland region, which Levi organizers first presented to winners last year.I think its a really cool prize, Kristoffersen said. I hope to win more of them in the future.Tina Maze of Slovenia, who won the womens race Saturday, named her reindeer Victor, for victory, and Kristoffersen said he would call his Lars, after his father.Marcel Hischer described the Levi race as an unbelievable fight between him and Kristoffersen for the top podium spot, but said he was 0.1 percent disappoiinted that he was beaten. Leon Draisaitl Jersey. But I need to be more focussed and concentrated tobeing faster, he said.Last month, Hirscher opened the World Cup season strongly in Soelden, Austria, by winning the giant slalom with a margin of 1.58 and, in the process, beat Olympic and world giant slalom champion Ted Ligety by more than three seconds. On Sunday, the American finished 18th after coming 22nd in the first run. Ligety had a combined time of 1:53.72.Levi — the northernmost World Cup venue, about 125 kilometers (80 miles) north of the Arctic Circle — is known as one of the toughest slalom slopes on the circuit. It had a hard, gritty base after days of cold temperatures, softened by the new snow.Ligety said he had never done well in Levi but that the conditions were good.I skied a little bit better in the second run but definitely made big mistakes in the wrong spots which cost a lot of time, he said. Levis a hill with specifics that doesnt apply to a lot of places, but weve been struggling with snow conditions in the US. But once I feel I have a bit more volume under my belt I should have a better chance to figure it out.Hirscher leads the overall World Cup standings with 180 points followed by Germanys Fritz Dopfer with 120. Kristoffersen is third with 100 points.The mens World Cup continues at Lake Louise, Canada, on Nov. 26, but Kristoffersen, who has never been to the United States before, will be travelling to Beaver Creek to compete in giant slalom in early December. 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