By John Duerden in Kuala Lumpur
April 30 – Yousuf Al-Serkal has not only labelled Bahraini rival Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa over-confident for predicting that he could win Thursday’s Asian Football Confederation presidential election in the first-round of voting but the head of the United Arab Emirates FA hinted to Inside World Football that he could receive help from other candidates in subsequent rounds.
Al Serkal also complained again of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) interfering in the election in order to ensure that the Bahraini wins the vote. Al-Serkal said they have a strong presence in Kuala Lumpur.
“I see them around in the hotel, I have heard about them, they can’t hide their presence. They have released a letter that denies they are interfering but that interference is itself proof of interference. Why don’t we see denials from FIFA, IOC and other organisations?”
The head of the UAE FA and vice-president of the AFC is one of four candidates bidding to succeed Mohamed Bin Hammam and along with Sheikh Salman, is regarded as one of the front-runners, though Salman is reckoned to be leading. It is expected that rank outsider Hafez Ibrahim Al Medlej from Saudi Arabia will withdraw from the running in favour of Al Serkal.
Salman, the chief of the Bahraini FA, said last week that he believed he could capture enough votes to win in the first round of voting. Under AFC rules, two-thirds of the vote is needed in the first round. If no candidate can collect the requisite 31 votes from the 46 full member associations, the one with the least number of votes is eliminated and voting recommences with just a simple majority of 24 needed.
“I believe that it will go to the second ballot and don’t think anyone will win in the first round,” Al-Serkal told Inside World Football. “He’s over-confident [if he thinks that he can].”
Al-Serkal arrived early in Kuala Lumpur ahead of the AFC Congress at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel and with member associations starting to arrive in the Malaysian capital is making late attempts to win as many supporters as possible.
“My campaign is going well. I have travelled a lot and met with a lot of presidents and lots of different associations and I have received positive feedback from the majority of them. I believe that I have the votes from the responses I am receiving. I am confident and feeling positive.”
Al-Serkal insists that he has the backing from the majority of associations in West Asia but with Sheikh Salman popular in the east, South Asia and the south-eastern ASEAN regions are crucial battlegrounds.
Thailand’s Worawi Makudi is the only non-West Asian candidate but the controversial FIFA Executive Committee member appears to have lost ‘block’ support from within East Asia. If he drops out after the first round, his influence could prove decisive.
“I believe that in ASEAN I am doing well,” said Al-Serkal. “There’s no direct agreement but myself and Worawi have a good relationship and I believe that if he does not pull through the first round, he will support me in the second round.”
Even if Makudi does back Al-Serkal, it may not be enough to defeat Sheikh Salman who has the support of the Olympic Council of Asia.
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