Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Will The Last To Leave Please Turn Out The Light?
PETALING JAYA — Controversial Thailand Football Association President Worawi Makudi has emerged as a leading candidate to replace Mohamed bin Hammam as President of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
Also in the running are Bahrain FA Chief Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, Saudi Arabia’s Hafez El Medle and Yousuf Al Serkal of the United Arab Emirates.
AFC Vice-President, China’s Zhang Jilong, is also expected to join the race and has the backing of Japan.
But Worawi, an executive committee member of football’s world governing body FIFA, is seen as the front-runner and has the support of the 11-member ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) and the Australian Football Federation.
Worawi was “extremely honoured” at being nominated for the post by the AFF. “I will do my utmost to serve the ASEAN family members,” he said. “My main target as the AFC President would be to bring everybody together and to unite the Asian Football Confederation.”
The 46-member AFC will elect a new President in Kuala Lumpur on May 2. Hammam resigned last December after a FIFA investigation into alleged irregularities over his management of the AFC’s finances.
In September, Worawi denied fraud allegations made by a South Korean firm over the premature cancellation of a multi-million-dollar broadcast rights deal. He was also cleared in 2011 of accusations that funds meant for the Thai FA were spent on his assets in Bangkok.
He was also accused by former English FA Chairman David Triesman of being part of an alleged bribery scandal for FIFA officials in return for backing England’s World Cup bid. AGENCIES
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# posted by Me @ 7:15 PM 
