Report: Prince Ali will run for FIFA presidency, could make announcement Wednesday

Someone will succeed the disgraced Sepp Blatter as president of FIFA when football's governing body elects a new kingpin on Feb. 26, 2016, and that someone could be Prince Ali bin al-Hussein, who will reportedly confirm his bid for the position in the coming days.

Speaking at the SoccerEx Global Convention in Manchester on Monday, the Jordanian prince refused to confirm whether he'll run again for president of FIFA but expressed his belief that he can become the ninth leader of an association that is desperately in need of reform.

"I am talking to national associations and listening to their opinions," Prince Ali said, according to the Rob Harris of the ssociated Press. "Right now we need a candidate who is forward thinking, with new ideas who is not tainted by the past ... if the election is done correctly, cleanly and properly, I believe I can win."

In the May election that saw Blatter re-elected for a fifth term, Prince Ali denied the FIFA president of the two-thirds majority required to win in the first round. However, Blatter's overwhelming 133-73 advantage resulted in the prince pulling out to avoid the 209 voting members from parading up to the booths for a second time.

Of course, it was only four days later that Blatter announced his resignation as authorities from the United States and Switzerland escalated their separate investigations of FIFA relating to corruption and the controversial awarding of the 2018 World Cup and 2022 World Cup.

Prince Ali has been one of Blatter's most vocal opponents and is also against the idea of FIFA being operated by UEFA president Michel Platini, who helped Blatter first get elected in 1998 and who confirmed in July that he intends to run in the upcoming election.

Related: Michel Platini confirms FIFA presidency bid

"FIFA is in a crisis right now and we need a new beginning," Prince Ali said. "Michel Platini's introduction into football governance was as a protege of Sepp Blatter, that's a reality."

Since the U.S. Department of Justice, the FBI, and the IRS combined efforts to investigate FIFA, 14 officials have been indicted, including a number of Prince Ali's former colleagues from the FIFA Executive Committee.