ID :
344856
Fri, 10/17/2014 - 12:48
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Tengku Abdullah To Vie For FIFA Exco Member Post

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 17 (Bernama) -- Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) president, Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah (left) announced Friday that he will stand for a International Football Federation (FIFA) executive committee (exco) seat for 2015-2018 term. He said the decision was made after he received strong support from FAM's exco members as well as Asean Football Federation (AFF) and Asian Football Confederation (AFF) affiliates to run for one out of three seats allocated for the Asian continent. Through the '1Asia 1Voice' motto campaign, Tengku Abdullah who has almost 30 years of experience in football said he hoped to unite the Asian continent to become the world football powerhouse in the future. "I intend to serve Asia as a good team player on a global scale while working with FIFA President, Joseph Sepp Blatter and AFC President, Sheikh Salman (bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa) to bring Asia to where it belongs; a world super power in football. "I'm also pleased to say I have received both their blessings to contest in this election. In fact, our beloved Prime Minister (Najib Razak) has also given full support (for my candidacy)," Tengku Abdullah told a press conference to announce the matter here. Tengku Abdullah, who also the Tengku Mahkota of Pahang, also said he hoped to secure more slots for Asian countries in FIFA World Cup Finals if he was elected, adding that Asian countries needed to be given more prominent roles in the world's football governing body. "We are the largest continent; we should start playing the part too. I believe that we (Asian countries) should be given more places in the World Cup (Finals) rather than the four seats allocated to us at the moment," he said. On the five other candidates who will also be vying for the post, Tengku Abdullah, who is also AFC Vice-President, said his competitors had their own advantages but he believed a good engagement between him and FIFA's affiliates would be one of the key factors to be a winning candidate. It is understood that the other candidates are from Thailand, Jordan, Japan, South Korea and Qatar. Meantime, Tengku Abdullah said despite helming other posts such as President for both the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHF) and Asian Hockey Federation (AHF), he stressed that it would not be a barrier for him to serve in any sports association as long as he managed his time well. "As I've stated before, I would not contest for the MHC President's post in the upcoming elections as I just want the hockey sport to be in stable condition...Let other people helm that post...I will just monitor from a different perspective," he said. The AFC Election Congress to be held here around the end of April or early May 2015 will decide on the three candidates from the Asian continent for the FIFA Exco posts. (photoBernama) -- BERNAMA

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