Bahrain’s Shaikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa elected President of Asian Football Confederation

Kuala Lumpur: Shaikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa of Bahrain was elected the new President of Asian Football Confederation (AFC) until 2015 after he collected 33 votes in the first round of elections held today at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel.

The signs of his victory came early when 35 full members of the AFC voted for Brunei to take part in the elections despite their suspension because they didn’t take part in the AFC junior and youth competitions. Brunei are a known ally of Shaikh Salman.

The decision on Brunei indicated that Shaikh Salman, supported by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) headed by Shaikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah, was set to secure the two-thirds majority needed to settle the elections from the first round. Thailand candidate Worawi Makudi got seven votes while the UAE’s Yousuf Al Sarkal got six.