OFA chief Wahaibi in fray for a seat in AFC executive committee

Muscat: Oman Football Association (OFA) chairman Sheikh Salim al Wahaibi is one of the 14 contestants in fray for the nine posts in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Executive Committee for the term 2023-2027.

Wahaibi’s nomination was confirmed by the AFC on Tuesday when the continental body announced the candidates for the AFC elections, scheduled to be held at the 33 rd  AFC Congress in Manama, Bahrain, on February 1 and 2, 2023.

Wahaibi’s nomination is among the five from West Zone with Adnan Darjal Motar (Iraq), Louie Oumeish Yousef

Oumeish (Jordan), Abdullah Ahmed Alshaheen Alrabeea (Kuwait), and Abdullah Nasser Aljneibi (United Arab Emirates) the other candidates. From Central Zone, Arslan Aynazarov (Turkmenistan) and Irmatov Ravshan (Uzbekistan) are in fray while from South Zone, India’s Shaji Prabhakaran along with Bassam Adeel Jaleel (Maldives) and Pankaj Bikram Nembang (Nepal) in fray.

Three candidates are from ASEAN Zone - Chris Nikou (Australia), Somyot Poompanmoung (Thailand) and Tran Quoc Tuan (Vietnam). Hong Kong’s Fok, Kai Shan Eric is the sole candidate from East Zone.

Nominations closed on 1 October and incumbent AFC chief Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim al Khalifa of Bahrain is set to elected unopposed for another term as AFC President as no other candidate is in fray against him.

Shaikh Salman will also assume the position of FIFA Vice President (ex officio) once he is formally re-elected.

Six are in race for five AFC Vice Presidents while seven are in fray for six FIFA Council Members, one of whom shall also be an AFC Female Executive Committee Member.

Only five candidates, including Palestine’s Susan Riyad Abdelrahim Alshalabi, are for the five AFC Female Executive Committee Members, one of whom shall also

be a FIFA Council Member.