ZURICH: Lydia Nsekera faces opposition from three other candidates for her role as women’s football representative on the FIFA executive committee writes KEIR RADNEDGE.

Nsekera, an IOC member who is president of the Burundi football federation, was appointed on an ad hoc basis by FIFA last year early in the reform process.

She was the first woman ever to serve on the exco and her appointment was pushed through by FIFA president Sepp Blatter despite reservations among some members of football’s governing committee.

A revision of FIFA statutes at last year’s Congress formalised an election system which will be undertaken at this year’s annual meeting of world football in Mauritius on May 30 and 31.

European federation UEFA decided not to nominate a candidate, aware that it already possesses a larger share of exco seats than any other confederation.

Nominations

Nominations closed last Thursday. Nsekera has been nominated by the African confederation along with Moya Dodd from Asia, Sonia Bien-Aime from Central and North America and Paula Kearns from Oceania.

Dodd, an Australian lawyer, joined the board of Football Federation Australia in 2007. Two years later she was elected as a vice-president of the AFC.

Sonia Bien-Aime is secretary-general of the Turks and Caicos football federation and played a leading organisational role in in the FIFA Women’s U-20 World Cup.

An investigation into alleged bribery by Bin Hammam revealed Bien-Aime declined money offered to her association when the Qatari visited Trinidad in May 2011 during his FIFA presidential election campaign.

New Zealander Kearns has been an elected board member of the NZFA since 2011 after serving previously in a co-opted role. She is a former acting ceo of New Zealand Football and is ceo of Canoe Racing New Zealand.

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