Post by QPR Report on Apr 28, 2009 12:43:39 GMT
Soccernet - April 28, 2009 By Jason Dasey
AFC: SHEIKH SALMAN INTERVIEW
The race for supremacy
The Formula One circus came to Bahrain last weekend but the man known as Sheikh Salman was engrossed in another dangerous race with even higher stakes: trying to quickly generate enough support to dislodge the most powerful man in Asian football.
Sheikh Salman was virtually unknown outside the Gulf region before his campaign.
Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa is the president of the Bahrain Football Association and a member of the nation's Royal Family. The 43-year-old has his sights set on defeating Asian Football Confederation chief, Mohamed Bin Hammam when the AFC votes on May 8th for the West Asia seat on the FIFA Executive Committee.
"I can see the chequered flag in front of me in a very close race," Sheikh Salman tells me in his office at the Bahrain Football Association, a short 15-minute drive from the Sakhir track. "I watched the Grand Prix last year but I'm so focused on this election that I never planned on making it this time."
If he loses the election against Sheikh Salman at the AFC Congress in Kuala Lumpur, Bin Hammam has pledged to step down as the regional body's president. The Qatari has held the FIFA seat for 13 years and has led Asian football since 2002.
A few months ago, Sheikh Salman was virtually unknown outside the Gulf region, happy to serve in relatively low profile roles on the FIFA and AFC Disciplinary Committees in addition to his duties with his national association. So, in the lead-up to the vote on the second Friday in May - which is also Bin Hammam's 60th birthday - Sheikh Salman has been flying back and forth across the region, visiting more than 20 countries.
'Asia for Change' is his motto - and while it may not have the same resonance as 'Yes We Can' - Sheikh Salman is happy to draw parallels between his campaign and Barack Obama's march to the White House last November.
Sheikh Salman is by no means your archetypal football administrator. Sitting in a casual red polo shirt and speaking softly in a slight English accent, he has more the air of a refined civil servant than the nephew of Bahrain's Prime Minister and cousin of the King. He has a slight resemblance to the late British actor, Peter Sellers.
A Manchester United supporter who played as an attacking midfielder ("a number 10") in the youth team of Bahraini side Riffa Club, Sheikh Salman lived in London in the mid-1980s, studying accountancy for a few months before deciding it wasn't for him. He returned home, reading English Literature and History at the University of Bahrain before graduating in 1992 with a Bachelor's Degree.
Married, with three children, Sheikh Salman worked in his family business - construction, real estate and import-export - and was later a customs' officer for the Bahraini government. But soon after becoming Vice-President of the Bahrain Football Association (BFA) in 1998, the beautiful game became his main career focus. He's been BFA President since 2002 and - like Bin Hamman - has developed a warm friendship with FIFA boss Sepp Blatter, an occasional visitor to the BFA's Manama offices.
Within the AFC, Sheikh Salman had enjoyed good personal relations with his fellow West Asian, Bin Hammam, and says that he'd always supported him until recently. Both men claim that they will have the clear majority needed to take the FIFA seat, one of four available to Asia and the only up for re-election at the AFC Congress. Sheikh Salman is believed to have the support of the powerful East Asian bloc, including Korea Republic president, Dr. Chung Mong-joon, a fierce opponent of Bin Hammam.
But Sheikh Salman vigorously denies that he's being funded or backed by Dr. Chung plus reports linking him to an alleged vote-buying scandal in a couple of member nations. With the backing of global football figures like Sepp Blatter and Franz Beckenbauer, Bin Hammam says that he's counting on winning at least 33 votes and laughs at claims that Sheikh Salman has the numbers to topple him.
"I am very confident in the democratic process of the AFC congress," he told ESPN Soccernet. "As for claims from the other camp on the support, we'll just see about that on May 8th."
Sheikh Salman added that while he isn't personally interested in running for the AFC presidency, he can't be held responsible for what Bin Hammam might do - and how it would affect the stability of the Asian body - if the incumbent loses the FIFA executive committee seat.
When Jenson Button won Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix, Shaikh Salman wasn't even on home soil. He was rounding off the weekend in Malaysia while planning a whistle-stop trip to Australia. A proposed meet-and-greet in Thailand was cancelled after the recent political unrest.
Earlier this month, ESPN Soccernet gave Mohamed Bin Hamman his voice ahead of the election and now it's time to hear from the challenger who addresses some of his gripes with the AFC President's record, speaks of how he sees Australia's future in Asia and weighs up the support he's likely to have on May 8th.
Q: Why have you decided to run for the FIFA seat?
A: The question is: why not? If we believe in democracy, then we believe that every person has the right to go and nominate themselves. We believe that through my experience of having joined the FIFA and AFC disciplinary committees since 2003, I've got the experience and hopefully can make some changes.
Q: Potentially, 46 AFC member nations can vote - how confident are you of getting the support that you need?
A: I'm pretty confident. We have the backing of a lot of countries in Asia. But we have to stay focused on our ideas and the support that we want to present to all AFC national associations. I'd like to think that it's a team and hopefully, by doing what's right, being just and fair and trying to give equal opportunities to all national associations, we'll have their support on-board.
Q: What's your view of the way Mohamed Bin Hamman is running the AFC?
A: Well, I think he has his own ways. Everybody knows Bin Hammam and what he's done. We have our way of doing things differently. And through the people I've met and through the national associations I've made contact with, I've always explained that (our) cards are on the table. I've shown them how things were before and I've told them how I'm trying to do things a different way. And that's why my campaign is 'Asia for Change'. We all know the support the AFC national associations are getting is unequal and unfair. We need transparency. So far we haven't seen that in the AFC.
Q: You said 'unfair'. In your view, what's unfair about the way Bin Hammam is conducting things at the AFC?
A: We all know the support given to national associations differs from one country to another. I think this is unfair. There are certain programmes through FIFA where we know that all national associations are treated fairly, in the same way and with the same support. This is what we're looking to provide in the AFC.
Q: But what about the way Bin Hammam has successfully expanded the AFC Champions League and developed grassroots schemes like 'Vision Asia'?
A: National associations are getting nothing out of the expanded Champions League. The marketing rights should be spread across national associations but that's not happening. As for 'Vision Asia', we haven't got anything. We've got no support. I'm not seeing any benefits to Bahrain through Vision Asia. With money from the AFC, some association might get $40,000 a year (for a programme) and another $120,000. There's no equality. Everyone should get the same.
Q: He's accusing you of being a puppet of Dr. Chung from the Korean Republic and you say he's autocratic and not treating each nation fairly. How's it come to this, between a Bahraini and a Qatari?
A: We shouldn't say it's between Qatar and Bahrain. It's just two different personalities going for a post and each person has his way of running things. When we judge Bin Hammam, it's as a member of the AFC. It's my right to say something is being done in a wrong way. It's everybody's right.
Q: What about claims that link you or your supporters to a vote-buying scandal involving a couple of AFC member nations?
A: It's saddening and shocking to hear false claims like that. Accusing me of being a puppet of whatever just shows you how personal it is getting, but for us, it's not: it's just about the president's work.
Q: How concerned are you that he'll follow up on his promise to step down as AFC President if he loses the battle with you. Wouldn't that destabilise Asian football?
Jason Dasey/Soccernet
Sheikh Salman and his supporters are confident of success.
A: If we believe the AFC should be run by a team, not just by one man, then I don't think any harm will reach the AFC. We are part of one family. We want the unification of the AFC to run by a group of people - by a group of countries - who know the benefit of all national associations. If the AFC is going to be run by one man - and if he goes it means that everything will crumble - then this is the wrong way of thinking about it. I've never said I'm going to force him to step down. It's the responsibility of a president. It depends on him. It's a decision for all of the AFC. It's not my call.
Q: There's concern from Australia that if Bin Hamman goes, then Australia's Asian future might be under threat. What's your view of Australia's role within the AFC?
A: I think this is just another rumour that has been spread by the other party. Who brought Australia to Asia? It was the Asian nations: it wasn't Bin Hamman. It was the congress of the AFC that invited Australia to become a member. No one can take that away. Australia is part of Asia now. We shouldn't focus on these statements. People say 'divide and rule' - that's trying to create things out of nothing. The Australians know this statement isn't true.
Q: So, do you expect to be celebrating victory on May 8th in Kuala Lumpur?
A: I'm confident about the elections. I think I have the support of the major countries in the AFC. And if they think something is wrong and something should be done about it, then I'm sure there are other countries who aren't raising their voice loud but are not happy with the way things are run. Hopefully through the countries I've visited I can say that at the end of the campaign, momentum is high and the support is even higher for this election.
• Australian-born Jason Dasey (www.jasondasey.com) is an international broadcaster and corporate host. He covered the 2006 World Cup and 2007 Asian Cup for ESPN.
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