KUALA LUMPUR: Asian Football Confederation (AFC) president Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa announced his bid for re-election on Wednesday, urging that election “rules and regulations must be respected”.

The Bahraini royal, who is seeking a third term in office, said he had the support of nearly 90 percent of the AFC’s 46 full members, but warned against “third-party interference” in the vote next April.

Sheikh Salman first took the reins in 2013 when the Asian body was still reeling from a corruption scandal which saw his predecessor Mohamed bin Hammam banned for life from all football-related activities by world-governing body FIFA.

“As you know our elections are always based on the spirit of fair play. Like in football, the rules and regulations must be respected,” he told delegates on Wednesday at the close of the AFC congress in Kuala Lumpur. “We need to be strong on this matter.

AFC must avoid return to turmoil and instability: Sheikh Salman

“In Asia and particularly here at the AFC, we have built a positive reputation and image in the last five years. We do not need nor do we want any third-party interference or influence in our elections.

“That will not only damage the game, but also drag the organisation and member associations down. My colleagues on the executive committee and I will defend AFC and our member associations.”

Sheikh Salman’s hopes of retaining his position were boosted when the congress passed an amendment to rules governing the election process allowing candidates to be nominated by member associations other than their home federation.

It also approved a proposal to formally recognise five regional associations within the AFC.

Sheikh Salman will likely face a challenger from Saudi Arabia. An expected challenger is Adel Ezzat, who resigned as Saudi football federation president last month to prepare a candidacy.

However, Ezzat’s hopes of building a power base suffered a blow on Tuesday when members of the South Asian Football Federation withdrew from the Saudi-created South West Asian Football Federation.

While Saudi Arabia has long been a marginal player in the game, the oil-rich kingdom — currently involved in a diplomatic row with 2022 World Cup hosts Qatar — is seen as being in the midst of a push for influence in football.

Sheikh Salman said he had letters of support from 40 of the federations in the AFC, which has influence as the world’s second biggest confederation behind Africa.

“All member associations must be free to exercise their rights for the good of the game. And this, we must remember, is the Asian football family. Our family must stick together,” he said.

“I can say is I won’t let you down,” as he warned against a return to “turmoil and instability”.

Asian football has a chequered history after Qatar’s Bin Hammam was accused of bribery during his 2011 campaign to unseat the now disgraced Sepp Blatter as president of world body FIFA.

After having a life ban annulled by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, Bin Hammam was handed a second lifetime ban by FIFA in 2012 for conflict of interest violations. Following his ban, the AFC was led by interim president Zhang Jilong until Sheikh Salman’s successful election in 2013.

Sheikh Salman completed the last two years of bin Hammam’s term, before being re-elected unopposed to a full, four-year term in 2015.

“We all remember only too well the problems of the past, that period of turmoil and instability,” he said. “No one wants to return to that image of the AFC and I’m determined we shall not.”

Sheikh Salman also pledged his support to the reelection campaign of Gianni Infantino, who defeated the Bahraini in the FIFA presidential election in February 2016.

Infantino was in Kuala Lumpur this week and posed with officials from the continental federation at a ceremony to mark the opening of a new AFC headquarters.

“We will be full supporting you to do your work at FIFA,” he told Infantino. “There is still a lot of work to do and you are the man to complete that task. You can count on us and you can count of Asia, Mr President.”

Published in Dawn, November 1st, 2018