December 1 – Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa will run unopposed for a third full term as president of The Asian Football Confederation (AFC), the fourth time he has been elected to lead the confederation.
Shaikh Salman’s first term in 2013 was filling in an unexpired term following the departure of disgraced Qatari Mohamed bin Hamman who beat Shaikh Salman in a bitterly contested election in 2011 that fractured the Asian nations and their solidarity.
Since then Shaikh Salman has led the confederation though a major revision of its development programmes and competition structures with more nations competitive on an international basis than ever before.
He also oversaw the engineering of a major revision of the confederation’s commercial structures and the introduction of a new long term commercial and marketing partner.
While Shaikh Salman’s re-election will keep stability and continuity within the world’s largest confederation, the congress will see electoral contests for AFC positions throughout the membership at the electoral congress in Manama, Bahrain on 1 February 2023.
The elections are for the 2023-2027 term.
Most notable will be a battle for position on FIFA’s council where seven male candidates are vying for four positions. Included in the electoral race are Sheikh Hamad Khalifa Al Thani (Qatar) and Yasser H. Almisehal (Saudi Arabia). The Korea Republic also have a candidate in Mong Gyu Chung.
The AFC said its Electoral Committee had conducted eligibility checks on the candidates running for the AFC positions and the FIFA Review Committee verified the eligibility of the candidates running for the FIFA Council positions.
The AFC Electoral Committee will be responsible for all tasks related to the organisation, conduct and supervision of the elections. The elections to the FIFA Council positions will be monitored by representatives appointed by the FIFA Governance Committee.
CANDIDATES FOR ELECTIONS
AFC President and (ex officio) FIFA Vice President
H.E. Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa (Bahrain)
AFC Vice Presidents
West Zone: Mr. Hachem Haidar (Lebanon)
Central Zone: Mr. Mehdi Taj (Islamic Republic of Iran) Mr. Dastanbek Konokbaev (Kyrgyz Republic)
South Zone: Mr. Ugen Tsechup (Bhutan)
ASEAN Zone: Mr. Zaw Zaw (Myanmar)
East Zone: Mr. Ganbaatar Amgalanbaatar (Mongolia)
AFC Female Executive Committee Members, one of whom shall also be elected as a FIFA Council member
West Zone: Ms. Susan Riyad Abdelrahim Alshalabi (Palestine)
Central Zone: None
South Zone: Ms. Mahfuza Akhter (Bangladesh)
ASEAN Zone: Ms. Kanya Keomany (Laos)
East Zone: Ms. Liu, Shyh Fang (Chinese Taipei) Ms. Han Un Gyong (DPR Korea)
FIFA Council Members (4 to be elected)
H.E. Du Zhaocai (China PR) (incumbent)
Mr. Kohzo Tashima (Japan) (incumbent)
Mr. Mong Gyu Chung (Korea Republic)
Datuk Haji Hamidin Bin Haji Mohd Amin (Malaysia)
Mr. Mariano Araneta, Jr. (Philippines) (incumbent)
H.E. Sheikh Hamad Khalifa A. A. Al Thani (Qatar)
Mr. Yasser H. Almisehal (Saudi Arabia)
AFC Executive Committee Members
West Zone: Mr. Adnan Darjal Motar (Iraq) Mr. Louie Oumeish Yousef Oumeish (Jordan) Mr. Abdullah Ahmed Alshaheen Alrabeea (Kuwait) Mr. Salem Said Salem Al Wahaibi (Oman) Mr. Abdullah Nasser Aljneibi (United Arab Emirates)
Central Zone: Mr. Arslan Aynazarov (Turkmenistan) Mr. Irmatov Ravshan (Uzbekistan) South Zone: Dr. Shaji Prabhakaran (India) Mr. Bassam Adeel Jaleel (Maldives) Mr. Pankaj Bikram Nembang (Nepal)
ASEAN Zone: Mr. Chris Nikou (Australia) Pol. Gen. Somyot Poompanmoung (Thailand) Dr. Tran Quoc Tuan (Vietnam)
East Zone: Mr. Fok, Kai Shan Eric (Hong Kong)
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