President

HRH Prince Ali Bin Al Hussain

His Royal Highness Prince Ali Bin Al Hussain has been the president of WAFF since his initiative of it’s establishment in 2000, with the aim of providing an official umbrella for 12 Member Associations in the region and unifying them while organizing various championships for all age groups and both genders.

HRH Prince Ali was born in Amman on December 23, 1975, to His Late Majesty King Hussein and Her Late Majesty Queen Alia. His Royal Highness is the forty-third generation direct descendant of the Prophet Mohammad (Peace Be upon Him).

Prince Ali began his primary education at the Islamic Educational College in Amman. He continued his studies in the United Kingdom and the United States and graduated from Salisbury School in Connecticut in 1993, where he excelled in the sport of wrestling.

His Royal Highness entered the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the United Kingdom. He was commissioned as an officer in December of 1994 and was awarded the Brunei Medal. Before continuing his studies in the United States, His Royal Highness served in the Jordanian Special Forces as a pathfinder, earning his military freefall parachute wings.

His Royal Highness was asked to serve as commander of His Majesty’s Special Security in the Royal Guards in 1999. He served in that capacity until January 28, 2008, when His Majesty King Abdullah II entrusted Prince Ali with establishing and directing a National Centre for Security and Crisis Management. His Royal Highness Prince Ali holds the rank of a Brigadier in the Jordanian Armed Forces.

In 1999, Prince Ali became the President of the Jordan Football Association. Prince Ali succeeded in bringing the youth team to the FIFA World Cup in 2007 in Canada as well as three Jordanian national teams to the Asian finals in 2010, for the first time – one of the few Asian countries to achieve that. Under his leadership, the Jordan National Women’s team has dramatically risen in the latest FIFA women’s world ranking. Prince Ali has also focused on invigorating Jordan’s youth teams and strengthening football community centers across the country to promote the unifying, educational and cultural values of football.

In 2000, he established the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF), expanding the number of members, uniting the region’s football confederations and organizing and expanding international championships for men and women. He serves as President of the WAFF.

In October 2010, Prince Ali announced his candidacy for the position of FIFA Vice President representing Asia against the incumbent Dr. Chung Mong Joon of South Korea. Prince Ali won the election at the Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) Congress in Doha, Qatar on January 6, 2011. Prince Ali officially became the FIFA Vice President from Asia at the FIFA Congress held in Zurich on June 1st, 2011.

Prince Ali is also Chairman of the Board of the Royal Film Commission, established in 2003 with a vision to develop an internationally competitive Jordanian film industry and invigorate Jordan’s cultural and economic role in the region and beyond.

Prince Ali holds the Al-Nahda decoration of the first degree as well as a number of foreign decorations, including a British Knighthood, the French Légion d’honneur, and the Order of the Rising Sun of Japan.

His Royal Highness married Princess Rym Ali, daughter of veteran U.N. and Algerian diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi, on September 7, 2004. The royal couple have a daughter, Princess Jalila, born on September 16, 2005, and a son, Prince Abdullah, born on March 19, 2007.