By Andrew Warshaw, chief correspondent, in Doha
March 20 – One of the candidates bidding to become president of the Asian Football Confederation has said for the first time that he might pull out of the race.
Now Saudi Arabia’s Hafez Al Medlej has admitted he might not go the distance and instead lend his support to United Arab Emirates’ candidate Yousuf Al Serkal (pictured) to avoid splitting the vote.
All four contenders – the others are Bahrain’s Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa and Thailand’s Worawi Makudi – are lobbying fiercely in what is shaping up to be a close ballot. “I might withdraw in favour of Al Serkal,” Al Medlej told Gulf News. “He is the favourite to win the elections and there is complete mutual understanding, agreement and co-ordination between the UAE and Saudi Arabia in this regard.”
Al Medlej and Al Serkal both attended a West Asian Football Federation summit recently hosted by Jordan’s Prince Ali bin Al Hussein where members tried and failed to decide on a single candidate. Al Khalifa did not attend since he was already campaigning in East Asia and a follow-up meeting was scheduled for next month.
Al Serkal, a FIFA vice-president, is understood to have set up a meeting with Sepp Blatter on March 27 in an attempt to garner crucial support. Even though the FIFA president has no vote, Al Serkal said: “Blatter has a great influence in the AFC elections. I will tell him about my plans to develop the game in Asia and fight corruption. Everything is prepared for the visit and I am optimistic I will have the support of the world football governing body.”
Al Serkal declined to get drawn into Al Medlej’s position or how many candidates will ultimately be left in the race. “What has surfaced in the media about Al Medlej’s hints that he may not go ahead with the AFC presidency race is his own business. I have strong ties with the man and I’m proud of our friendly ties. I respect any decision or stand he might take.”
Al Serkal is taking nothing for granted. “There’s nothing easy in the race for the AFC presidency. Dato’ Worawi Makudi has secured the backing of 12 nations and is accepted by some associations in east Asia. Shaikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa (Bahrain) has received the support of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and has other strongholds in the continent.”
“I’m in the process of assigning an international public relations company to lead my campaign. My plan is to visit a number of countries that I haven’t yet visited as part of my electoral effort to attract more supporters. I have spoken to some officials of the associations in these countries and we are coordinating the time of the visit to suit their agenda.”
Meanwhile Qatar’s Hassan Al-Thawadi is also on the campaign trail in his bid to beat off the challenge of Sheikh Salman for the vacant Fifa executive committee seat. Over the last week Al-Thawadi, who is organizing Qatar’s 2022 World Cup, he has toured South Asian countries, including meeting with Bangladesh FA President and South Asian Football Federation President Kazi Md Salahuddin.
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