U.S. Soccer announces endorsement for FIFA President

Sunil Gulati announced on Thursday afternoon that the United States Soccer Federation will be endorsing Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein for FIFA President in tomorrow's elections. This shouldn't come as any surprise as they backed Prince Ali in last year's elections when he went head-to-head with Sepp Blatter. Blatter eventually won out, but U.S. Soccer remained firm in their support of Prince Ali.

.@ussoccer will vote for @AliForFIFA for President of #FIFA

— Sunil Gulati (@sunilgulati) February 25, 2016

According to experts, Sheikh Salman is the favorite to eventually win the vote and become the next President on a permanent basis. Issa Hayatou, from Cameroon, is the current interim FIFA President. He took over for Blatter in October when Blatter was banned for send an illegal payment.

This special election was created so that FIFA can elect a new leader that will hopefully begin the reformation process demanded of them by the FBI, who started this whole process by bringing down indictments on FIFA last April.

Ali: “I am proud to receive the support of the USA, joining my vision for a new, transparent, fair and honest FIFA that puts football first.

— tariq panja (@tariqpanja) February 25, 2016

Only time will tell if the new President will in fact bring about the changes needed. Many expect the status quo to remain, but candidates like Prince Ali are committed to reform. U.S. Soccer's endorsement for him, just like it was in 2015, can only be viewed as honorable.