MUMBAI: Asian Football Confederation (AFC), yesterday confirmed that Qatar’s Hassan Al Thawadi (pictured) will stand for the FIFA executive committee position.
The AFC also announced that Bahrain’s Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, part of the ruling family which is trying to contain continued violent unrest and political turmoil, is among the nominees to be the Asian Football Confederation president.
The AFC said in a statement yesterday that Bahrain FA chief Sheikh Salman is also in the running for an Asian seat on world governing body FIFA’s executive committee.
Al Thawadi is currently the Secretary-General of the Qatar 2022 Supreme Comittee and could hold the FIFA post from 2013-2017 if elected.
The AFC has been without a permanent president since May 2011 with previous boss Mohamed Bin Hammam of Qatar banned for life by FIFA for corruption and bribery allegations, which he denies. United Arab Emirates soccer chief Yousuf Al Serkal and Saudi Arabia official Hafez Ibrahim Al Medlej, have also thrown their hats in the ring to be the president for 2013-2015.
Thailand’s Worawi Makudi will be the fourth candidate and already has the backing of the 12 votes from Southeast Asia. The AFC has 47 member associations in all.
“The nominations will now be scrutinised and the list of candidates will be sent to the member associations one month prior to the Congress in accordance with the AFC statutes,” the AFC said in a statement. Sunday was the deadline for nominations for the May 2 leadership election, which comes a day before the AFC’s ordinary Congress.
China’s Zhang Jilong, the acting head of Asian soccer, had opted out of the race giving Thailand’s Worawi a headstart against his rivals.
Worawi, an ally of Bin Hammam, has been campaigning hard for eight votes in the South Asian region, having already confirmed the support from Southeast Asia.
His cause would be helped if his rivals from West Asia fight among themselves to garner support in their own region, though efforts are on to come to an agreement on a single candidate from the area. Jordan’s Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein, the president of the West Asian Football Federation, has called a meeting tomorrow to try to find a consensus candidate.
AFP
