Jordan suddenly receive 8-month overdue payment from FIFA but insist they still WON'T back Infantino

Jordan FA president Prince Ali bin Hussein has confirmed the receipt of an overdue payment from FIFA, but has insisted his organisation will not back the governing body's under-fire president Gianni Infantino.

Prince Ali, who ran against Infantino for the FIFA presidency in 2016, had issued an explosive statement earlier this week over his running of the organisation.

He accused Infantino of delaying prize money payments and refusing to address the problem unless Jordan endorsed him for a fourth term at the helm of world football.

Along with highlighting challenges of getting their fans to attend the World Cup in the United States and their prize money being taxed by the host country, Prince Ali had highlighted that their players were awaiting payment for reaching the final of the Arab Cup in Qatar last December.

‘The money our team should receive for having reached the final has not been delivered yet, while at the same time FIFA brags about how many billions they have in reserve,' Prince Ali wrote.

‘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 - until 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.

‘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.’

In an update on social media, Prince Ali confirmed FIFA have now made the overdue payment but he renewed his criticism of the governing body and Infantino.

'Thank you to the FIFA administration for suddenly this morning delivering what was owed to our players and coaching staff, for the Jordan National team’s accession to the final of the FIFA Arab Cup in Qatar last December,' Prince Ali wrote.

'This was funding that should have been received 8 months ago.

'While this is a good development for our players, it does not change the serious concerns we in the football world have regarding the FIFA leadership, nor does it change what our FAs have been subjected to in the past.

'It is symptomatic of those exact difficulties that we all face, and that are usually linked to the FIFA presidential elections.

'And 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.'

FIFA's action comes after Infantino had convened an emergency meeting in Morocco on Wednesday in which the embattled boss was given the ‘full support’ of FIFA’s top brass to remain as president.

A lengthy statement from FIFA late on Wednesday night admitted mistakes were made amid scathing criticism of Infantino's plan to sell off stakes in the World Cup.

The governing body apologised in a letter to the various football associations and that a ‘review’ will be carried out.

The statement said that, following the meeting, FIFA’s secretary general Mattias Grafstrom, who had criticised Infantino, and other management board members in attendance ‘reaffirmed their full support for the president’.

For good measure, it added: ‘FIFA will no longer tolerate any attacks on its integrity, good governance and due process and will take all necessary measures to protect and safeguard its name and reputation.

‘There are always lessons to be learned, and FIFA will continue to improve its processes in light of this experience. In this instance, however, it is important to stress that, although mistakes were made, everything that was done was done in full compliance with the FIFA regulatory framework.’

The statement came hours after Luis Figo became the latest high-profile name to call for Infantino’s head in a blistering attack in Daily Mail Sport.

Figo had described Infantino’s now-aborted plan to flog a stake in the World Cup to private investors as the ‘lowest, most deceitful and cravenly self-interested behaviour I have ever witnessed’ and a ‘grubby, underhand plot’.

Figo, the former Barcelona and Real Madrid star, who initially backed Infantino in 2015, branded the Swiss a ‘relic who should have no part in football’s future’ and accused him of ‘a litany of abuses’.

Aside from the World Cup sell-off, he referenced the decision to suspend the ban for USA striker Folarin Balogun after his red card at the World Cup and the half-time show during the final which ‘broke the laws of the game’.

‘Infantino has debased the office of FIFA president he promised to elevate,’ he wrote.

‘He has lied, deceived and tried to feather his own nest at the expense of the game he is supposed to serve.’

Figo’s comments came after an attack by UEFA, which said it had lost confidence in Infantino, calling his proposal to flog commercial and event operations a ‘shabby, back room, opaque deal’.

Amid heavy criticism and calls for Infantino to go, Grafstrom sent an all-staff memo describing the situation as ‘sad and reproachable’ and adding ‘individuals, unstable moments and unfortunate episodes come and go.’

However, second-in-command Grafstrom was pictured laughing and joking with Infantino at a women’s Africa Cup of Nations game following the meeting, ahead of the release of the statement.

Should he survive, Infantino would face re-election in March, and would need 106 votes from FIFA's 211 members to win another term in charge of the global game.