By David Owen
January 25 – Two Asian football heavyweights are said to have drawn a line under their differences, in a move that could have profound consequences for the leadership of the world’s biggest sport.
Mohamed Bin Hammam (pictured left), President of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and Bahrain’s Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim (pictured right) are reported by Emirates news agency WAM to have agreed to “clear [the] air and to open a new page in their relations”.
Last year, the two men were involved in an acrimonious campaign for a seat on world governing body FIFA’s ruling Executive Committee.
The contest was won by Bin Hammam, but the narrowness of his victory, by 23 votes to 21, highlighted divisions in Asian football and dealt a blow to any hopes the AFC President might have of succeeding Sepp Blatter at the head of FIFA.
The apparent reconciliation significantly strengthens Bin Hammam’s hand at a time when Blatter has let it be known that he has ambitions for a fourth term.
The AFC President is widely seen as one of the most likely figures to mount a challenge to the 73-year-old incumbent.
WAM said that Abu Dhabi Sports Council Chairman Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan had “patronized a reconciliation session” between the two men at the Abu Dhabi Sports Club.
Sheikh Hazza had “affirmed [the United Arab Emirates’s] keenness to maintain cordial relations among sporting circles in the region” and said that the session was held in “a very friendly atmosphere”.
According to WAM, his initiative had been preceded by a “meeting between Bin Hammam and Sheikh Salman…at the Emirates Palace to narrow differences between the two sides”.
The two men “agreed to clear [the] air and to open a new page in their relations.”
WAM said that the session was attended by: Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani, chairman of the Qatari Football Association; Mohammed Khalfan Al Rumaithi, chairman of the UAE Football Association; and Yousif Al Sirkal, Deputy chairman of both the AFC and the UAE’s National Olympic Committee.
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