By John Duerden
April 25 – Worawi Makudi, one of four candidates in the running to become the president of the Asian Football Confederation in next Thursday’s election, has told Inside World Football that he has enough support to win.
The head of the Thailand Football Association and FIFA Executive Committee member is up against three West Asian candidates in the upcoming vote in Kuala Lumpur and knows if he is to have a chance of collecting the 24 votes needed to secure victory against Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa of Bahrain, Youssuf Al Serkal of the United Arab Emirates and Hafez Ibrahim Al Medlej of Saudi Arabia then he must have the full backing of the eleven ASEAN members.
“ASEAN have declared unanimous support. My friends will always be with me. I am very sure about that,” Makudi told Inside World Football before adding that he has been picking up support outside his home region. “I’ve spoken with a lot of member associations. I shared my hopes and aspirations and they like what I had to say. I am confident of majority support [at the election].
A member of FIFA’s Executive Committee since 1997, Makudi was a surprise entrant in the race but it would be a much bigger shock if he were to win and succeed Mohamed bin Hammam who was suspended from football activities in May 2011 following allegations of vote-buying.
Widely regarded as trailing behind Sheikh Salman and Al-Serkal who have been busy garnering support and announcing their visions for the future of Asian football to the world’s media, Makudi had been relatively quiet. He insists however that he has been working hard behind the scenes. “The campaign is going great and obviously I’ve been busy. I’ve been travelling extensively and intimating my plans for Asian football.”
Some of those plans point towards a future in which the world’s largest continent can match the best when it comes to the beautiful game. “I want to see Asian football improving to be on par with African and even European football. I don’t promise miracles. I am not a magician. I don’t have a magic wand. Asia has already hosted the World Cup. Why not an Asian World Cup winner? Is that a dream? I don’t think so. Maybe not in my time but I would like to facilitate that. The differences in quality and standards with the Europeans and Africans are being bridged.”
There have been rumours of deals done behind the scenes with other candidates especially in regards to the later stages of voting at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel next week. If no clear majority is reached after the initial votes are counted, the candidate with the least number of votes will be eliminated and voting will recommence.
Makudi refused to discuss any deal or his rivals for the post. “There are four candidates and we’re all competing on a level playing field. I don’t think any one candidate has a clear advantage over the rest. I am up against some fine football administrators and gentlemen. They are all my friends. We all have our merits.”
The biggest stumbling block in Makudi’s attempts to gather support is his controversial record. The 61 year-old accompanied former president Mohamed bin Hammam in May 2011 when the Qatari was alleged to have bribed Caribbean Football Union members. He has also been accused of misusing FIFA development grants to build and develop on his own land in and around the Thai capital, Bangkok.
Makudi has been cleared of any wrongdoing by the world governing body and was once again at pains to stress to Inside World Football that his record was clean. “I have been absolved by FIFA. It’s not a claim I make. You can view all the relevant correspondence on my website.I have been investigated and I have been cleared. It is a non-issue now.”
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