FIFA president Sepp Blatter addressing members of the AFC’s Extraordinary Congress at Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Kuala Lampur yesterday. RIGHT: Newly elected AFC president Bahrain’s Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa is congratulated by Qatar’s Hassan Al Thawadi. Al Khalifa defeated Al Thawadi to win a seat on FIFA’s Executive Committee.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: Just half an hour after winning the AFC presidency race, Bahrain’s Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa made it a personal double by edging Qatar’s Hassan Al Thawadi for a seat on FIFA’s Executive Committee.
The 43-year-old AFC president bagged 28 out of the 46 votes to secure the FIFA ExCo seat for the next four years in a separate vote at AFC’s Extraordinary Congress.
Earlier, Sheikh Salman emerged a landslide winner when he bagged 33 votes in the AFC Presidency election. Rivals Thailand’s Worawai Makudi (seven votes) and UAE’s Yusuf Al Sarkel (six votes) failed to reach double digits.
Al Thawadi, 34, surprised pundits by bagging 18 votes and presented a brave look after the decision was announced by AFC Secretary General Dato’ Alex Soosay.
The young lawyer, who played a key role in Qatar’s successful 2022 FIFA World Cup bid, said: “It was a good run for me. It was a great experience to be part of this election. Every effort is worth something and I am sure it would be the case with me as well.”
The young Qatari added: “I congratulate Sheikh Salman on his win - for becoming the AFC president and for winning the ExCo seat. The AFC will have our full support and commitment as we look at developing the sport in our continent.”
Al Thawadi added: “I had thought I had sufficient number of votes but the real count is what you see in the ballot box. It was exhilarating stuff to see AFC members get up and drop their votes in the ballot box. I think I have got a great head start to build on something substantial. I got a good tally (of 18 votes). That shows there are people who think I was worth backing.”
The Qatar Football Association (QFA) president Sheikh Hamad bin Ahmed bin Khalifa Al Thani said he was impressed at the ‘number of votes Al Thawadi managed to bag’ in what was the 34-year-old’s first attempt at winning an AFC nod.
Sheikh Salman, the new AFC president, hinted that Al Thawadi could get another shot at what seems to be a vacant ExCo seat at FIFA following the suspension of Sri Lanka’s Vernon Manilal Fernando for ‘alleged misuse of AFC funds’.
“We will know in due course of time if that seat is vacant,” Sheikh Salman said. “Once that is decided by the AFC Executive Committee, then anyone wishing to contest for the seat can apply,” he added.
The Bahraini, however, hinted that he would like to see a balance in the way FIFA ExCo seats are occupied from Asia.
He said he would welcome parties from all parts of Asia to contest for the FIFA ExCo seat in the future and not just the Middle East.
Sheikh Salman said AFC would support Qatar ‘in every way’ as it prepares to host the FIFA World Cup in 2022.“The World Cup in Qatar is a World Cup to be held in Asia. It is our responsibility to support that event in any way possible,” Sheikh Salman said.
“They (Qatar) will have our full commitment,” he added.
Earlier, FIFA president Sepp Blatter praised the job done by China’s Zhang in leading the AFC during the last two years.
“He did a very good job in a very difficult situation, showed a lot of commitment in a period, as you know very well, wasn’t very easy for the AFC,” Blatter said.
“Maybe we should regret he is no longer in this position but it was his decision to give it back. He deserves, from the Asian community, a special reward,” the FIFA boss said.
Also yesterday, Northern Mariana Islands were not entitled to vote as an associate member, while Brunei were approved voting rights after winning a motion at the start of the congress despite not taking part in the required two AFC competitions in the last two years.
Meanwhile, Moya Dodd of Australia was yesterday re-elected unopposed as the AFC vice-president (Female) for the term 2013 until 2015.
Han Un-gyong (DPR Korea) and Susan Shalabi Molano (Palestine) were elected as AFC Executive Committee female members for the East and West respectively.
Their terms will run from 2013-2015. the peninsula
