Political kingmaker Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah of Kuwait extended his influence further into soccer on Thursday when he was elected unopposed as one of Asia's three ordinary representatives on FIFA's executive committee.
Political kingmaker Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah of Kuwait extended his influence further into soccer on Thursday when he was elected unopposed as one of Asia's three ordinary representatives on FIFA's executive committee.
Sheikh Ahmad was the only candidate for a two-year term up for grabs on FIFA's top table due to tactical manoeuvring by confederation chiefs.
The tactics were orchestrated by Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa of Bahrain, who himself was re-elected as Asian Football Confederation (AFC) president unopposed for a four year term. He will continue on the FIFA executive committee as the Asian president.
They were joined on the executive committee by Prince Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah of Malaysia and Kozo Tashima of Japan who will serve for four years. That means Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein of Jordan, who has served on the FIFA executive for the last four years, loses his seat.
Prince Ali's position, as Asian vice-president, was taken by Sheikh Salman in his role as president, and the Jordanian royal did not contest any of the other Asian seats available.
Tashima polled 36 votes and Shah 25 meaning that long-serving Thailand's Worawi Makudi, who had been on the FIFA exco since 1997, was not re-elected at the end of his term after polling only 13 votes.
Chung Mong-gyu of South Korea, a relative of former FIFA executive committee member Chung Mong-joon also polled 13 votes and was not elected.
It is Ahmad's elevation though that is the most significant and extends Asia's increasing influence in sporting political bodies.
Many observers close to FIFA believe his election seals the first step towards an eventual tilt at the FIFA presidency itself in 2019.
The AFC's elections statutes were changed before the vote took place, allowing him to stand for a two-year term, which in turn paves the way for him to stand again for four years in 2017 and be in place to make an expected push for the FIFA presidency in 2019.
A former officer in the Kuwaiti Army and the former chairman of oil cartel OPEC the 51-year-old exerts influence through his many sporting positions.
He is currently the head of the Association of National Committees (ANOC), the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and the Solidarity Commission of the International Olympic Committee.
He is also the founder and president of the Pan-Arab Rowing Federation, among other pan-Arab sporting bodies and also is the honorary president of the Kuwait FA.
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