More than half of Asia’s 46-member football confederation in calling for “Fair Play” have beseeched FIFA to intervene and monitor the May 8 Asian Football Confederation Congress, which they believe could be tainted with unethical conduct.
A total of 24 countries signed a joint memorandum to the FIFA headquarters in Zurich, addressed to president Joseph Blatter, expressing their “fear and concern” over Friday’s upcoming election for a FIFA Executive Committee seat.
Their main grouse is their fear that closed circuit cameras could be placed strategically near or over the “voting booths”. The concerned delegates believe that their fears are not unfounded.
Lashing out strongly against this unethical conduct, Kuwait FA Vice President Faisal Al-Dakheel said: “This is totally undemocratic, it’s tantamount to robbing the privacy of members, and their right to vote for whom they want.”
“Which is why we have requested that all members of the AFC are permitted to make relevant measures to check the locations where the votes are to take place.”
The member countries cover a wide cosmopolitan region of Asia: Seven from West Asia, six from South & Central, three from Asean and eight from East Asia.
They have called on FIFA to “supervise the election procedure as per FIFA and AFC statutes...and for FIFA to provide a directive not to allow any camera or mobile camera phones at the site of voting”.
“We want to see genuine democracy at work,” he added. “The individuals voting must be guaranteed of their privacy to vote.”
Friday’s meeting, one of the most acrimonious in AFC history, sees newcomer Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa, the president of the Bahrain FA and a member of the Bahraini royal family, take on the incumbent, Qatari businessman Mohamed bin Hammam, who is also the AFC president, for the post of FIFA executive committee member (West Asia).
“Signing the joint declaration to FIFA by more than half of Asian members is a sure signal that the dictatorial policy of Hammam in depriving members of the genuine right to vote, is against the spirit of FIFA’s institutionalised motto of ‘Fair Play’,” said Al-Dakheel.
“The element of fear among the voters is presently prevalent and we seek FIFA’s help to assure a very fair and free election.”
The mud-slinging during the recent campaign had created an unhealthy atmosphere among the 46-member countries, something unprecedented in the world’s largest continent.
If the Qatari loses that powerful position, Hammam has said he will step down as AFC chief despite his term running until 2011.
Sheikh Salman said: “I am confident of my ability and my chances are better than my opponent in the battle for several reasons.
“I did not prevent any of the Asian members from voting, I did not create laws to try and prevent others who have the right to vote from doing so, I did not interfere in the affairs of others.
“So let us now focus on the battle and see what we can do for the betterment of Asian football.”
Sheikh Salman's comments came after FIFA ruled last week that six Asian football associations had the right to vote at the AFC Congress despite being informed that they did not meet the conditions to do so.
The nations -- Kuwait, Brunei, Laos, East Timor, Mongolia and Afghanistan -- are all expected to back Sheikh Salman, with a two-thirds majority of the AFC's 46 members needed to win the FIFA seat.
In the cases of Brunei, Laos, East Timor, Mongolia and Afghanistan, AFC's ad-hoc Legal Committee said they had not played enough official competitions to be able to vote. But FIFA said they had.
The Kuwaitis were told they would be excluded from voting because the AFC did not recognise the temporary committee running their football affairs. Yet again, FIFA disagreed.
“What we want is for everyone, all associations, to have their say and to express their opinions with absolute freedom,” said Sheikh Salman, who is running under a pragmatic “Asia for Change” slogan.
“We want to promote equality among member associations, transparency within the AFC organisation, with an emphasis on transparency in reporting AFC finances, and promoting unity for the development of Asian football.”
A total of 24 countries signed a joint memorandum to the FIFA headquarters in Zurich, addressed to president Joseph Blatter, expressing their “fear and concern” over Friday’s upcoming election for a FIFA Executive Committee seat.
Their main grouse is their fear that closed circuit cameras could be placed strategically near or over the “voting booths”. The concerned delegates believe that their fears are not unfounded.
Lashing out strongly against this unethical conduct, Kuwait FA Vice President Faisal Al-Dakheel said: “This is totally undemocratic, it’s tantamount to robbing the privacy of members, and their right to vote for whom they want.”
“Which is why we have requested that all members of the AFC are permitted to make relevant measures to check the locations where the votes are to take place.”
The member countries cover a wide cosmopolitan region of Asia: Seven from West Asia, six from South & Central, three from Asean and eight from East Asia.
They have called on FIFA to “supervise the election procedure as per FIFA and AFC statutes...and for FIFA to provide a directive not to allow any camera or mobile camera phones at the site of voting”.
“We want to see genuine democracy at work,” he added. “The individuals voting must be guaranteed of their privacy to vote.”
Friday’s meeting, one of the most acrimonious in AFC history, sees newcomer Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa, the president of the Bahrain FA and a member of the Bahraini royal family, take on the incumbent, Qatari businessman Mohamed bin Hammam, who is also the AFC president, for the post of FIFA executive committee member (West Asia).
“Signing the joint declaration to FIFA by more than half of Asian members is a sure signal that the dictatorial policy of Hammam in depriving members of the genuine right to vote, is against the spirit of FIFA’s institutionalised motto of ‘Fair Play’,” said Al-Dakheel.
“The element of fear among the voters is presently prevalent and we seek FIFA’s help to assure a very fair and free election.”
The mud-slinging during the recent campaign had created an unhealthy atmosphere among the 46-member countries, something unprecedented in the world’s largest continent.
If the Qatari loses that powerful position, Hammam has said he will step down as AFC chief despite his term running until 2011.
Sheikh Salman said: “I am confident of my ability and my chances are better than my opponent in the battle for several reasons.
“I did not prevent any of the Asian members from voting, I did not create laws to try and prevent others who have the right to vote from doing so, I did not interfere in the affairs of others.
“So let us now focus on the battle and see what we can do for the betterment of Asian football.”
Sheikh Salman's comments came after FIFA ruled last week that six Asian football associations had the right to vote at the AFC Congress despite being informed that they did not meet the conditions to do so.
The nations -- Kuwait, Brunei, Laos, East Timor, Mongolia and Afghanistan -- are all expected to back Sheikh Salman, with a two-thirds majority of the AFC's 46 members needed to win the FIFA seat.
In the cases of Brunei, Laos, East Timor, Mongolia and Afghanistan, AFC's ad-hoc Legal Committee said they had not played enough official competitions to be able to vote. But FIFA said they had.
The Kuwaitis were told they would be excluded from voting because the AFC did not recognise the temporary committee running their football affairs. Yet again, FIFA disagreed.
“What we want is for everyone, all associations, to have their say and to express their opinions with absolute freedom,” said Sheikh Salman, who is running under a pragmatic “Asia for Change” slogan.
“We want to promote equality among member associations, transparency within the AFC organisation, with an emphasis on transparency in reporting AFC finances, and promoting unity for the development of Asian football.”
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