Asian football braces for showdown

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Top members of Asian football's governing body made a last-ditch attempt Thursday to resolve a bitter election dispute that is threatening to break up the organization.

The executive committee of the 46-member Asian Football Confederation held an emergency meeting to decide if five member countries have the right to vote in an election to choose Asia's representative on FIFA's executive committee.

"The meeting has started. Let's wait and see what the outcome is," said an AFC official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media.

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Contesting the election is AFC president Mohammed Bin Hammam, who caused an uproar when he barred Kuwait, Mongolia, East Timor, Afghanistan and Laos from voting, and subsequently ignored a FIFA directive that they are eligible.

Hammam's challenger, Bahraini prince Sheik Salman bin Ebrahim Al-Khalifa, said Hammam is trying to block their participation in the election because he fears they would vote against him. Hammam, a Qatari who is often tipped as a successor to FIFA president Sepp Blatter, denies the accusations, saying the ban was on procedural grounds.

Hammam says Kuwait is ineligible to vote as it was being run by an interim body, while the other four countries were barred because of their non-participation in regional competitions over the past two years. The orders were issued by AFC's legal committee, which is hand-picked by Hammam.

President of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Mohamed Bin Hammam speaks during a news conference in Aleppo March 21, 2009. [Agencies]

At its meeting, the 24-member AFC executive committee will recommend whether the five should vote or not. The recommendations will then be taken up by the AFC congress on Friday, when the vote is scheduled.

At stake is more than just a position on FIFA's board.

Hammam has said that if he loses the vote - which coincides with his 60th birthday - he will also stand down as president of the AFC.

The controversy has split the AFC. Last week, 24 members wrote to FIFA, urging it to monitor the election saying they feared Hammam would manipulate it.

"Asia was always united and there was strong cooperation (among members). But today our federation is divided and it is not the real spirit of Asia," Sheik Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, president of the Kuwait Football Association told reporters Wednesday.

Sheik Ahmad had been a key figure in the election campaign. He is also president of the Olympic Council of Asia, which Hammam has accused of trying to use grants to influence its members to vote for Salman.

Sheik Ahmad told reporters that such an "undemocratic" ruling, barring his vote, and a heated election campaign had hurt Asian football.

It has caused "a lot of damage. Delegates from all other organizations will come (for the congress). If they see like this in Asia, of course this is bad for the reputation for Asia."

Among the issues affecting member countries at the congress will be attempts to move the AFC headquarters from Kuala Lumpur to Qatar.

Hammam claims that FIFA vice president Chung Mong-joon of South Korea is bankrolling Sheik Salman. Hammam says that if he is ousted from the FIFA executive committee, Chung would have one less rival to worry about in his bid to become FIFA president.