By David Owen
March 17 – Mohamed Bin Hammam will tomorrow fire the starting-pistol for what promises to be a hard-fought contest for the top job in world football.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) President will use a press conference in Kuala Lumpur to announce that he is challenging Sepp Blatter for the leadership of FIFA, world football’s governing body.
The move from a thoughtful, well-connected and experienced member of the top table of international football politics poses an acute threat to the 75-year-old Blatter’s 13-year FIFA presidency.
The 61-year-old Bin Hammam demonstrated the extent of his influence last year, playing a key part in his country Qatar’s successful bid to stage the 2022 World Cup.
To achieve this, the gas-rich Gulf state had to overcome severe concerns over its small size and extreme climate, as well as outdoing numerous other bids, including one from the most powerful nation on earth.
Bin Hammam, who is not ostensibly a natural campaigner, faces a similarly tough battle if he is to stand a chance of ousting his wily and tactically astute Swiss opponent.
His announcement will kick-start two months of frenetic globe-trotting by the two men ahead of a vote at the 61st FIFA Congress in Zurich, beginning on the last day of May.
Blatter, indeed, is already off and running, visiting East Timor, Burma and Laos this week, in what some might interpret as an attempt to exploit rumoured tensions between east and west in the vast and diverse football territory over which Bin Hammam presides.
The Qatari would certainly do well not to underestimate his opponent, who possesses the energy of a man half his age and, in 2002, convincingly beat off a challenge from African football boss Issa Hayatou in a particularly bitter campaign.
As nine years ago, this year’s race is sure to ignite heated debate over the way FIFA manages the world’s biggest sport.
This came in for heavy criticism during last year’s high-stakes battles to win the right to stage the body’s flagship football tournament in 2018 and 2022.
Key to the outcome will be the attitude of regional barons such as CONCACAF’s Jack Warner and UEFA’s Michel Platini, who hold much sway over FIFA’s internal affairs.
These men are likely to find themselves much courted in the 10 weeks of intensive global campaigning that lie ahead.
To win, Bin Hammam will probably need the surefootedness to execute a delicate balancing-act, portraying himself as a new broom on some issues and a competent and experienced practitioner on others.
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