By John Duerden in Kuala Lumpur
May 2 – Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al-Khalifa of Bahrain won a landslide first-round victory to become the 10th president of the Asian Football Confederation on Thursday, trouncing his stunned opponents as he promised to lead Asian football into a new era of stability.
Needing 31 votes out of a possible 46, Salman collected 33 first time round to leave Youssef Al-Serkal of the United Arab Emirates trailing in third place with six votes, one behind Worawi Makudi of Thailand.
The magnitude of the defeat for the vanquished parties, both seen as allies of Mohamed Bin Hammam, amounted to a massive rejection of support for the former AFC President from Qatar, banned for life by FIFA over alleged corruption two years ago.
As it became clear on late Wednesday evening and Thursday morning that Salman was going to win, Al Serkal’s support defected in large numbers to hitch a ride on the bandwagon that was fast approaching the finish line, with South Asia deciding en masse to back Salman and Central Asia soon following suit, falling into line with the stance taken by East Asia the previous afternoon.
Al Serkal made frantic attempts to stem the bleeding, even walking around the hotel restaurant late into the night to interrupt delegates during dinner but it was all to no avail.
Salman had been bombarded with allegations of human rights violations in his native Bahrain in the build-up to the vote, and of colluding with the Olympic Council of Asia.
But they ultimately made scant difference as he also defeated Hassan Al-Thawadi of Qatar in their contest for a seat on FIFA’s Executive Committee by 28 votes to 18, securing his powerbase both across Asia and at the top table of world football’s governing body.
The biggest cheers from the ranks of delegates – and much of the West Asian media – came when AFC General Secretary Alex Soosay announced the results.
“Today I am proud and happy to see the Asian football family gathered together,” said Salman who lost out to bin Hammam two years ago in a bitter feud for a FIFA executive committee seat.
“Proud and happy to see our family united. In the past, some of you asked me ‘Why are you campaigning again?’ The answer is, that I have not finished my mission. My mission is to lead the AFC to a future of growth and prosperity, a future of good governance.
“Now it is my personal duty to reunite our family. We need concrete reforms, steps that can be implemented and measured, an AFC where the decision-makers are accountable, for their actions, the decisions they take and the success of the result, which you can measure.
“We have to ensure that the AFC fund, which is your fund, is being managed to good principle…The AFC needs a strong president and a strong leader with necessary skill to take concrete actions. I would like to be your voice, your ambassador on FIFA’s executive committee, restore the AFC’s reputation, clean up the past and prepare for the future, restore transparency.”
Al Serkal, whose stunning defeat left him shell-shocked, told Inside World Football that he had no problems accepting the outcome but didn’t know why his vote had collapsed while for Makudi, much of the south-east Asia bloc clearly deserted him.
“I didn’t expect the result,” Al Serkal told InsideWorldFootball. “I expected to win or lose by a small number of votes. This is democracy, other than disappointment, there is no hard feeling. I am accepting the result with good spirit. I have no negative reaction to any of my colleagues or anyone in the Asian Football Confederation. Sheikh Salman was a strong opponent and I congratulate him.”
Ahead of the vote, there was drama as a motion to restore Brunei’s voted rights was carried after the association had been banned for not participating in recent AFC competitions. With Brunei known to be Salman supporters, it was an early show of the Bahraini’s strength.
In his last moments as acting president, China’s Zhang Jilong hinted that whoever runs Asian football from now on needed to be careful not to abuse his power in order to escape the shadow cast by the Bin Hammam affair.
“We have faced challenges as a confederation in the recent past but we are confident that our beloved confederations will sail smoothly…and move towards a bright future,” said Zhang who ran the show for two years on an interim basis. “I didn’t ask for the job, I am not one to walk away from my responsibility, I am a happy man knowing that I have done my best for Asian football.”
He then added, tellingly: “I would like to advise the new president to keep personal and all political interest aside when governing Asian football.”
Contact the writer of this story at moc.l1734800122labto1734800122ofdlr1734800122owedi1734800122sni@n1734800122edreu1734800122d.nho1734800122j1734800122