HRH Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein of Jordan has announced that he will stand for the presidency of FIFA, in a bid that could bring Sepp Blatter’s 17 year reign to an end.

“This was not an easy decision,” Prince Ali said in a statement. 

“It came after careful consideration and many discussions with respected FIFA colleagues over the last few months.”

His decision comes soon after the culmination of FIFA’s investigations into allegations of corruption in its bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, which failed to identify any culpable wrongdoing and led to the resignation of Michael Garcia, the lawyer hired by FIFA to investigate the allegations. 

Prince Ali has pledged to run a positive campaign and to steer FIFA away from the controversies of recent years.  “The message I heard, over and over, was that it is time for a change. 

“It is time to shift the focus away from administrative controversy and back to sport.”

Prince Ali became vice president of FIFA in 2011. He is also president of the Jordan Football Association and the West Asia Football Federation, which he founded in 2001. 

If elected, Prince Ali would be the first FIFA president from the Asia region and only the second from outside Europe, after Brazil’s Joao Havelange.

At just 39 years old, Prince Ali is a contrasting candidate to FIFA’s 79 year old candidate Sepp Blatter, who announced in September 2014 that he would run for a fifth term. 

At Soccerex Global Convention in September, Prince Ali spoke out in favour of time limits for presidential terms 

Blatter is a formidable opponent who has weathered many a storm without any apparent loss to his power or personal reputation. 

The only other candidate in the race is Jerome Champagne of France, who also announced he would stand in September 2014. 

The deadline for presidential candidates to come forward is the 29th January. All candidates must be nominated by five FIFA members, of which there are 209. 

The election takes place by secret ballot on May 29th.

The power rental market in Qatar is set to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 23.3 per cent until 2020, according to research by 6Wresearch.

“Upcoming FIFA World Cup 2022, rising public and private infrastructure, construction of hotels and stadiums and increasing flow of investments in the country are exhibited to fuel the growth of Qatar’s power rental market,” the researchers said.

The majority of this growth will be accounted for by diesel gensets, but environmental concerns and the local abundance of natural gas will also drive growth in non-diesel gensets. Gas generators are expected to rise in prominence. 

International suppliers such as Aggreko, RSS, JTC, Byrne Investments, Hertz are cited as key players in the Qatar power rental market, alongside domestic players such as Qatar Building Co., Al Reyami and Qatar Industrial Equipment.

American multinational Cat Entertainment Services is another big player in major event power generation with the potential to tap into the growing market in Qatar.

More than US$200bn is being invested in infrastructure developments in the run up to the 2022 FIFA World Cup. 

The temporary power supply industry is in huge demand on projects such as Lusail City, the Doha Metro Rail, construction of expressways, hotels and other facilities, as well as nine new stadiums and major renovations to three existing stadiums. 

The Chinese Olympic Committee on Sunday confirmed the passing of IOC Honorary Member He Zhenliang.

An astute politician and diplomat, He played a pivotal role in returning China to the Olympic movement and also attracting the Olympic Games to Beijing. His great achievements earned him the moniker “Mr. Olympics” in China.

“The Olympic Movement has lost one of its most fervent ambassadors,” said IOC president Bach.

Before serving as IOC honorary member, He was IOC member from 1981 until 2010. He also served on the IOC executive board for three four-year periods and as IOC vice president from 1989 to 1993.

"China's current major-member status in the IOC is inseparable from He's hard work for decades,” Wei Jizhong, former secretary-general of the Chinese Olympic Committee told China Daily on Sunday. 

He played a vital part in helping Beijing win the right to host the Summer Olympic Games as an executive on the Beijing 2000 and 2008 bid committees.

Jizhong recalled He’s disappointment when Beijing missed out on 2000 by just two votes, telling China Daily "He said he felt he had let his country and people down, while in fact he'd done what he could to the utmost.”

The highlight of He’s career came at the 112th IOC session when Beijing’s bid committee won the host city election for 2008 under his leadership. 

In an interview with HOST CITY magazine published on the eve of the Olympic Games in 2008, He said: “The Olympic Games will help the world better understand China and vice versa. 

“If we can achieve such a goal through the Olympic Games, then the Games will not only leave its mark in the development history of China, in particular it will shine as a significant milestone in our diplomatic history. It will also be a symbolic major event in the history of international relations.”

These goals were certainly achieved, with the Beijing Games showcasing China to the world at a time of unprecedented economic growth.

IOC president Thomas Bach said “He was a man of culture and art. He was a true advocate of the social values of sport and of our Movement and I would like to pay tribute to the passion and energy he deployed over the years to fulfil his mission as an IOC Member in China. 

“He also helped our Movement better understand his country, its people and outstanding culture.”

Speaking to HOST CITY in 2008 about the impact of hosting the Games, He acknowledged the improvements to infrastructure and material wealth in Beijing, but said that more valuable benefit was the cultural impact of the humanistic values of Olympism in China. 

“The Olympic Games bestows hope and enlightenment to the world,” he told HOST CITY. “We need to make concerted efforts to build a bridge of tolerance, understanding, respect and friendly coexistence across different places, races, religions and ideologies.”

A keen sportsman, Mr He enjoyed swimming, playing table tennis, tennis, football, basketball and golf. A champion of sport and Olympic values in school curricula, He told HOST CITY his long term aspiration was for a greater role for sports within education in China. 

He’s other roles within the IOC included Chairman of the Cultural Commission (1995-1999), Chairman (2000-2009) and then Honorary Member  (2009-2015) of the Commission for Culture and Olympic Education, Vice-Chairman of the Sport for All Commission (1985-1987), and member of a number of other Commissions including the IOC 2000 reforms. 

He served as deputy secretary general of the Chinese Gymnastics Association, secretary general of the Chinese Table Tennis Association, deputy secretary general of the All-China Sports Federation and president of Chinese Olympic Committee.

The Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games Bid Committee also mourned He’s passing, praising his contributions to the Olympic Movement in China. The bid committee said it will endeavour to win the right to host the 2022 Games as a tribute to He.

2014 was full of questions about Rio’s readiness to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games but, according to International Paralympic Committee (IPC) president Sir Philip Craven, people can afford to relax in the knowledge that the city will deliver on time.

“1 January 2015 marks exactly 615 days to go until the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games and I can assure you that my excitement is growing by the day,” Sir Craven said in his annual New Year’s message.

“The Organising Committee has done a great deal of work in 2014, most recently highlighted by the successful launch of the Paralympic mascot Tom. I’m also delighted Rio 2016 has formed a Paralympic Integration Committee which is led by IPC Vice President Andrew Parsons.

“The last full year before the Paralympics is always vital and, in 2015, Rio will be staging a number of test events, as well as the Chef de Mission seminar, as their preparations gear up for the final push.

“People are a little more relaxed now they are seeing the venues grow in size each day and I am fully confident everything will be ready for our Games and that Rio will deliver a truly spectacular event. The atmosphere in Rio will be amazing; the Carioca like to party, and I hope Rio 2016 is one big party for the spectators and for the athletes (once they have competed of course!).”

Rio 2016 is of huge importance to the Paralympic movement. 

Speaking on 7 September 2014, two years before the start of the 2016 Paralympic Games, Craven said “Rio 2016 will be South America’s first Paralympic Games opening up a whole new continent to the power of the Paralympic spirit and Paralympic sport.

“I believe the Games can be transformational not just for Rio and Brazil, but the whole of the Americas and the Paralympic Movement.”

Although 2015 is not a Paralympic year, the large number of qualifying championships taking place will make the year one of the IPC’s busiest ever. 

“Arguably the biggest and most important sporting event of the year is August’s Toronto 2015 Parapan American Games which will feature 1,600 athletes from 28 countries competing in 15 sports,” said Sir Philip.

“It is vital that Toronto 2015 is a success and that we leverage the event to generate greater awareness of the Paralympic Movement in the Americas ahead of Rio 2016.”

In his address, Sir Philip also cited the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games as the IPC’s Top Moment of 2014. 

Qatar has the economy and the infrastructural capability to host the FIFA World Cup, but needs to address the issue of the weather and impose its individuality to create an outstanding event in 2022, according to three of the biggest names in Italian football.

"The first feeling that Qatar gives is that this is a set of people who have everything. They have great potential to host an event of such high calibre," Gianluigi Buffon, captain of Juventus said at a press conference before the Supercoppa match between Napoli and Juventus in Doha on Saturday.

"Considering the economic potential and facilities here, the World Cup will be a positive event for this country. They have all the ingredients to make it a successful event."

Christian Maggio, the Napoli right back added "Since the first day of our arrival in Qatar we have been amazed by the infrastructure. It is beautiful. It is an indicator that this city wants to provide something extraordinary.

"Qatar will be ready for the World Cup. There is care taken about even the smallest of details. And definitely Qatar will be ready to host an international event of such a huge stature."

This is not the first time a major international footballer has backed Qatar to host a world class event in 2022. In May 2014, Yaya Toure of Ivory Coast was impressed by a presentation by the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy.

Napoli coach Rafael Benitez, who has reportedly been offered a role coaching Qatar’s national team, said "Working with football people here in Qatar is a great pleasure. They have the best of facilities. And utilizing these facilities is something that Napoli and other teams should think about."

Buffon, who was for many years regarded as the best goalkeeper in the world, also spoke positively about the developing football culture in Qatar. "We were warmly received here. Many people, including myself, didn’t know that Juventus will have such a huge following in Qatar."

Speaking at a time when Qatar's right to host the World Cup is being called into question, he hinted that a non-judgemental attitude helps to build understanding. "If you don’t go about your life in a particular way then you don’t get the love of the people."

Nonetheless, the host nation still needs to work on its footballing identity and communicate its vision to the world. 

"In the years ahead of the event, Qatar should find ways to make the event more romantic," said Buffon. "And I hope that it can be done and that will make the Qatar edition stand out from the rest of the world."

The biggest issue Qatar faces in hosting the World Cup is the hardest to control. "Of course I think that we need to play in the right weather so that the players can have the best conditions to display their skills. And also for the fans. They tend to move from one place to another. So we expect there will be the question of weather."

In a dramatic U-turn, the members of FIFA’s executive committee have voted unanimously in favour of making public its report into alleged corruption surrounding the bidding process for the Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022 World Cups.

The full report was written by US lawyer Michael Garcia, but only a controversial summary by his counterpart on the Ethics Committee, Hans-Joachim Eckert, has yet been published.  

Garcia dismissed Eckert’s summary as “erroneous and incomplete” and resigned from the Ethics Committee on Wednesday after his appeal was dismissed.

While many contributors to the report have spoken out in favour of publishing it in full, all were promised confidentially and the published report will be redacted for legal reasons – and it will not be published until the conclusion of ongoing investigations into five people connected to the affair.

FIFA vice president Jim Boyce of Great Britain is one of the executives who has spoken in favour of publishing the report, saying “If people have nothing to hide, why are they afraid of something being issued?"

VITAL Communications has been chosen to assist with expanding the Convention’s reach beginning in 2015 with the World Sport & Business Summit in Sochi, Russia.

The SportAccord Convention World Sport & Business Summit is the world’s premier annual event at the service of sport, focused on driving positive change internationally, and dedicated to engaging rights holders, organising committees, cities, press and media, businesses and other organisations in the development of sport.

Nis Hatt, Managing Director, SportAccord Convention said, “Mr. Vitale, an attorney, has more than 35 years’ experience in the television industry, including Executive positions at NBC Television Network and ABC Sports. By collaborating with one of the pioneers of Sportel, we truly strengthen the presence of media providers available to delegates.”

In making the announcement, William Vitale, President of VITAL Communications commented, “I am very excited to be supporting the growth plans of SportAccord Convention. We have a wonderful opportunity to broaden participation and help to make the annual World Sport & Business Summit a must attend event for all sectors of the international sports community.”

Nis Hatt, Managing Director, SportAccord Convention concluded by saying, “As the Convention grows, it is important to encourage involvement and engage with organisations across all industry sectors and having VITAL Communications on-board will ensure a broad representation of media and increased service quality for our delegates.”

SportAccord Convention 2015 will take place 19-24 April 2015 in Sochi, Russia and will be held at the Sochi Expocentre. For more Convention information and to register visit www.sportaccordconvention.com.

The US has officially confirmed that it is bidding for the 2024 Olympic Games but will not reveal its preferred candidate until January 2015. 

Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington DC all presented their plans to the US Olympic Committee (USOC) board of directors on Monday, after a six months consultation programme. 

“At our request, and because of the preliminary nature of our discussions, the cities have not spoken about their bids publicly in great detail,” said USOC CEO Scott Blackmun. 

Panos Protopsaltis – speaker at HOST CITY Bid to Win and Olympic transport expert – is advising the USOC throughout the candidate city selection process. 

Asked to discuss the relative merits of the candidates, Protopsaltis began by talking enthusiastically about Washington DC. “It is the capital city and all central infrastructures are there – not only transport but technology infrastructures, integrated command and control structures.

“Then you have a city like Boston with an economy which is doing very well in a city that is very small – geographically it is the smallest of the four.

“San Francisco is completely different, and then you have LA which is biggest of them all. They are in the middle of a multi-billion dollar transportation programme, upgrading and expanding urban rail systems – that is a programme they have irrespective of the Games.”

City development plans will form an important part of the evaluation of the candidate cities, Protopsaltis said. “Starting as a foundation, what is your plan for the next five to ten years for the city? What changes in infrastructure are you going to make and why are you going to do it?”

“All four cities have presented plans that are part of the long-term visions for their communities,” said USOC CEO Scott Blackmun. 

“At our request, and because of the preliminary nature of our discussions, the cities have not spoken about their bids publicly in great detail. That will be an important part of the process after we make our selection in January.”

The USOC will continue discussion the technical elements required to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games with the candidates in the coming weeks. 

“We are excited to announce our plans to put forth a bid for the 2024 Games and look forward to taking the next step of selecting from a group of four world-class cities to present a compelling and successful bid,” said USOC Chairman Larry Probst.

“We’re grateful to the civic and political leaders in each of the four cities for the partnership that’s been demonstrated thus far, and confident that the deliberative process we’ve put in place is going to result in a strong U.S. bid that can truly serve the athletes and the Olympic and Paralympic movements.”

The deadline for submitting a bid to the IOC is 15 September 2015 and the host city will be elected in 2017. 

The US last hosted the Summer Olympic Games in 1996 (Altanta). Los Angeles has hosted the Games twice before, in 1932 and 1984, and win for 2024 would make it only the second city after London to host the Games three times. 

Earlier in the week, Rome officially announced that it will bid for the 2024 Games. Germany is also expected to enter the race, with Berlin the more widely preferred candidate over the alternative, Hamburg.

Several other cities worldwide have expressed an interest, including Baku, Budapest, Doha, Istanbul and Paris. South Africa is also expected to put forward an applicant city.

The unanimous support for the IOC's Agenda 2020 programme of reform was remarkable, signalling a new era for the modern Olympic Games.

But according to Janez Kocijančič, President of Slovenia’s NOC and Vice President of the International Skiing Federation, who was at the IOC Session when Agenda 2020 was adopted a week ago, there was one important stone unturned.

“It is an agenda full of reforms, although in many respects the IOC remains as it was – not only the highest authority of world sport but also a self-electing body,” Kocijančič told HOST CITY.

“What some people expected, a greater role of NOCs and sport federations, didn’t happen. Out of 205 recognised NOCs, only one third of them are represented, and that’s not enough.”

The number of International Federations (IFs) represented in IOC membership is also limited, said Kocijančič. “There are many representatives of Olympic sports who are not there and who feel a certain discrimination.

“One of the strongest ideas of the international Olympic movement was the fight against discrimination. This should also bring the idea that all sports and all countries should be equal.”

All NOCs are members of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC), which already works closely with the IOC. 

“This ANOC structure, which is similar to all other international organisations – the UN, UNESCO, the World Health Organisation and the International Labour Organisation – should step by step be implemented in the IOC, so all countries would be represented. And all the Olympic sports presidents or representatives should be there as well,” said Kocijančič.

Rule 16 of the Olympic Charter states that the NOCs and IFs can each have up to 15 IOC members. But Sweden’s National Olympic Committee (NOC) President Stefan Lindeberg says these limits were set a number of years ago and could now be increased.

“This is not a big problem, as I see it now, to move forward in broadening the IOC. ANOC is getting stronger. Together with the IOC, we shape the future.” 

Lindeberg led Sweden’s bid to host the 2022 Olympic Games until it was abandoned due to a lack of political support. He then teamed up with the leaders of three other NOCs to publish a paper that exerted a powerful influence on the IOC’s Agenda 2020 discussions. 

“The NOCs had a strong voice on Agenda 2020. When we were working with Germany and Switzerland and Austria, we really felt that that had an impact on it, or at least came to the same conclusion that Agenda 2020 did.

“We are big winter nations – if we can’t take the Games, that’s a really big warning bell.”

These interviews were conducted the day after the IOC members voted unanimously to implement Agenda 2020. Kocijančič and Lindeberg were also speakers at HOST CITY Bid to Win conference

The unanimous adoption of Olympic Agenda 2020 reforms may have had a galvanising effect internally on the IOC, but influential figures close to the IOC say the project has created high expectations that may prove difficult to fulfil in good time.

“I am very impressed. It’s a true sign of strength, both for the president and for the capability of change,” Sweden’s National Olympic Committee president Stefan Lindeberg said in an exclusive interview with HOST CITY. “But it’s also creating huge expectation for true change.”

The president of Slovenia’s National Olympic Committee and vice president of the International Skiing Federation, Janez Kocijančič was at the IOC session on Monday when Agenda 2020 was adopted. 

“The main idea, under the very robust pressure of the president, Dr Thomas Bach, was to start the changes. The process of reform is open and I hope it will continue,” he said, speaking to HOST CITY exclusively.

But he also warned that implementing all 40 recommendations of Agenda 2020 will not be easy. “If somebody is too ambitious, it might be that the reforms stop before they really get started.

“I hope it will go further and I believe in the courage of the president and certain people around him that they will continue like that. But there is a lot of work that needs to be done.”

Kocijančič and Lindeberg both made valuable contributions as speakers at HOST CITY Bid to Win conference in London in October, where Agenda 2020 proposals were debated in great detail.

Lindeberg was the leader of Sweden’s bid to host the 2022 Olympic Games, which was abandoned due to a lack of political support for the project as the infrastructure costs for hosting Sochi 2014 were perceived to be spiralling out of control. 

“The fear among politicians was so massive of taking this perceived risk,” he told HOST CITY.

An important goal of Agenda 2020 is to reduce the cost of hosting the Games and guarantee the sustainability of Games infrastructure – but this will take a decade to achieve, Lindeberg said. 

“This is a really tough situation to face for the IOC, because it’s not until 2024 that we can see the full implementation of the new decisions regarding the buildings for the Games.

“They will do what they can to make as much change as possible for 2022 and even for the host city contracts for 2018. Expectations will be very high, so it’s really tough.”

Even aspects of Agenda 2020 that do not relate to physical infrastructure will take time to implement, Lindeberg warned.

“It’s been very positive when you look at the values parts of the Agenda 2020, with inclusion of sexual non-discrimination and workers’ rights. But we need to see results coming up quick so these values will be really shown in upcoming Games, and that’s the tough part. 

“Now that the Host City contract is being made public, it’s very important the IOC carry these changes into the contract for 2022. Because if they don’t they will have a problem with credibility.

Neither Lindeberg nor Kocijančič were eligible to vote on Agenda 2020 but both stated their full support for the reforms. 

“I would have voted for the recommendations, because I believe every process of reform has to be started,” Kocijančič told HOST CITY. “Agenda 2020 is a very positive approach because it means the very beginning of reforms. For the time being, I am satisfied with developments.”

HOST CITY contacted the IOC press office for a response to these reactions and a press release was promptly issued, in which president Thomas Bach said: “Following the success of the IOC Session in Monaco and the unanimous endorsement of my fellow IOC members for the Olympic Agenda 2020 recommendations, it is critical that we utilise the momentum and energy we have created throughout the Olympic Movement and start implementing straight away.”