By Andrew Warshaw
December 8 – In another contentious shake-up within its hierarchy, Asian football looks set to scrap its automatic female vice-presidency, held by Australia’s Moya Dodd, a move that is bound to lay the region open to accusations of gender discrimination just when it has been making all manner of noises about inclusion and reform.
Delegates attending the Asian Football Confederation’s extraordinary congress next month will be asked to approve an amendment abolishing the titular position in order to accommodate a fifth zone within its vast and complicated east-west structure.
Currently AFC rules stipulate that in addition to each specific zone having its own vice-president (currently all men), there has to be a female VP too at confederation level.
This is the post held since 2009 by Dodd who last year received even greater profile by becoming Asia’s co-opted female representative on FIFA’s executive committee and who now runs FIFA’s women’s Task Force designed to enhance and improve the women’s game at all levels.
The proposed change, recently sent to the AFC’s inner circle but seen by Insideworldfootball, recommends that Dodd’s title, which would have been up for re-election at the full AFC congress in April, is instead scrapped. She can still stay on as a routine AFC exco member, if elected, but many will take the view that her role, on paper at least, will be downgraded.
The situation has been created by the controversial decision, backed by AFC president Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, to separate central and south Asia into two separate zones even though they only have 13 nations between them, bringing the total number of zones to five.
Like other zones, the two new ones will each be allocated a VP post as well as a female member. While this technically increases the total number of women on the AFC exco from four to five, sceptics will view it as a fig leaf designed to offset criticism about abolishing the far more prestigious confederation VP position occupied by Dodd.
Interestingly, it mirrors another recent change that will shortly mean the reform-minded Prince Ali bin Al-Hussein losing his FIFA vice-presidency. Prince Ali’s position is being merged with Salman’s AFC presidency, giving the Bahraini total control over a confederation he only inherited a year ago.
Although the latest proposal seems almost certain to be approved by a majority Asia’s 46 full members, critics argue the AFC could easily instead simply create a sixth VP, thereby retaining Dodd’s position. That is not on the table, however, despite FIFA encouraging more women to senior leadership positions.
When Dodd joined the FIFA exco, Salman pledged the full backing of all the Asian membership with a ringing endorsement. “Our best wishes are with her and I am sure …she will give a big boost to women’s football in the world,” he said at the time.
Since then, she has been backed by FIFA President Sepp Blatter to chair the women’s Task Force, persuading both the FIFA exco and the FIFA Congress in Sao Paulo last June to adopt ten key principles for women’s football development. She was also elected last month as one of four athlete representatives on the International Council of Arbitration for Sport.
Ironically, the idea to expand the role of women within Asian football was originally instigated by Salman’s predecessor, Mohamed bin Hammam, who was banned twice for life, the second time for financial impropriety while in charge of the AFC.
Dodd was not immediately available for comment but is known to be less concerned about titles – even though her VP role secured her strong FIFA profile – and more interested in progression and developing the interests of women’s football not only in Asia but throughout the world.
But there is a bigger picture that threatens to cause further bitterness and division within a confederation that insists it is on the road to unity. Under the amendments to the statutes, the geographic balance of power will be dramatically shifted away from the east – with its big commercial hitters like Japan, South Korea and China and their high populations – towards the Salman-backed west side.
In one fell swoop, if the amendments are approved, the east would be outnumbered at both executive and emergency committee level, cementing the Bahraini’s power base as he bids to be re-elected at next spring’s full Congress.
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