Jordan Football Association President Ali bin Hussein publicly accused FIFA President Gianni Infantino of blackmail on August 4, alleging FIFA offered to resolve Jordan's football problems only if the association endorsed Infantino's reelection bid [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. Ali bin Hussein, a former FIFA vice president and previous presidential candidate, said, "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" [1].
The dispute centers on prize money Jordan earned as runners-up at the FIFA Arab Cup in Qatar in December 2025. Jordan awaited USD 4.2 million, which was unpaid for eight months [1, 7, 4, 5]. Ali bin Hussein thanked FIFA for finally delivering the overdue payments on August 6, saying, "Thank you to the FIFA administration for suddenly this morning delivering what was owed to our players and coaching staff" [7, 8, 9].
Additional grievances cited by the Jordan FA include exorbitant ticket prices, visa denials for Jordanian fans attending the 2026 World Cup in the United States, and unusual taxation by the US government on World Cup participation money routed through FIFA [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6].
The allegations emerge amid growing opposition to Infantino's leadership. He recently abandoned a controversial plan to sell a 20% stake in the World Cup's commercial rights after pushback from confederations and national associations [1, 2, 3, 10, 11]. Some FIFA executives, including Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom and Arsene Wenger, have distanced themselves from Infantino's leadership approach [1, 2, 3, 10].
FIFA held a crisis meeting in Morocco on August 5 and reaffirmed support for Infantino, while apologizing for mistakes related to the abandoned commercial rights plan [7, 8, 9]. The FIFA presidential election is scheduled for March 2027. Infantino is seeking a fourth term despite these controversies [9, 11, 6].
Jordan's standoff may signal ongoing tensions ahead of the vote as Ali bin Hussein reiterated, "It does not change my clear position concerning the leadership of FIFA: my FA and I will not endorse President Infantino, nor will we vote for him" [7].
