On the Scene -- Bin Hammam Victorious

AFC President Mohamed bin Hammam retains his seat on the FIFA executive committee. (A. Stavrinos/ATR/Panasonic:Lumix)Asian Football Confederation President Mohamed bin Hammam has survived a challenge to his coveted FIFA executive committee seat after a bitter campaign complete with personal attacks, power abuse claims and cash bribes for votes.

Bin Hammam’s presidential term ends in 2011 but he will be the West Asian representative on the FIFA executive committee for four years.

He held the coveted FIFA seat for 13 years prior to the failed challenge by Bahraini royal, Sheik Salman bin Ebrahim Al-Khalifa.

“The result of the election gave me my biggest gift today,” bin Hammam – who turned 60 today – told journalists at a post AFC Congress media conference.

The AFC president had promised to resign as the organization’s leader if he lost the vote for the FIFA seat and reflected on how the difficult campaign had taken an emotional toll, often leaving him in low spirits and dejected.

In the end, the result was tight – bin Hammam attracted 23 votes to his opponent’s 21, with two invalid votes cast.

“There were a lot of people that lifted me up,” he says. “My best friends let me down more than other people that didn’t owe me anything.”

Football chiefs from 46 Asian Football Confederation member nations were in Malaysia for the crucial meeting that settled what had become an increasingly bitter election campaign.

As delegates arrived in Kuala Lumpur, bin Hammam chose to stay silent as a coalition of opponents – led by FIFA vice president, Korea’s Chung Mong-joon and former long-serving AFC secretary general Peter Velappan - unleashed personal attacks on him.

Bin Hamman stayed silent throughout, surprising his opponents when he finally broke his silence on the floor of Congress.

He announced plans to move the FIFA executive committee candidate Sheik Salman after losing the vote against the incumbent at the AFC Congress. (A. Stavrinos/ATR/Panasonic:Lumix) AFC headquarters away from Malaysia were dropped after meeting the country’s prime minister and that – in the spirit of “fair play” - he was allowing Kuwait voting rights, which were rescinded the previous day by the AFC’s ruling executive committee.

“To those who supported me today, thank you very much,” Bin Hammam told delegates after.

“I promise you that I am going to do more than I have done in the past. For those who chose not to support me today, I also promise them I will do my best to have your confidence and trust in me next time.

“Asia needs all of us ... both camps. We need to work hand in hand and we need to work together.”

“A page has been turned,” Sheik Salman told Reuters. “The difference was just one vote ... the objective now is to win back trust.”

Chung appeared in a rush to leave the venue at the conclusion of the meeting.

“Today, we learned how to lose, in the future I hope we learn how to win,” he told reporters.

Those comments appeared to follow on from an address at the meeting by FIFA President Sepp Blatter, who called for fair play and noted that included accepting victory, which was relatively easy, as well as accepting defeat, which was difficult.

There was such distrust within AFC member ranks leading up to the vote, that Blatter accepted a request to bring a Swiss notary and lawyer with him to independently supervise the vote.

“I expect discipline, respect, and a fighting spirit, but all in the spirit of fair play,” Blatter had told delegates prior to the decisive poll.

Written by Anthony Stavrinos

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