AUCKLAND: Oceania football confederation president David Chung has resigned after seven years in the job, according to a formal statement concerning the increasingly fragile status of the FIFA vice-president.

The OFC said: “David Chung has resigned from his position effective immediately. Chung, who has been at the helm of OFC since 2011, took the decision after much deliberation citing personal reasons.”

The annual meeting of the OFC’s executive committee is scheduled for Sunday to consider a critical audit into a multimillion-dollar project to build a new headquarters. It has been reported that a ‘no confidence’ vote concerning Chung had been mooted.

Malaysia-born Chung stepped up in late 2010 after the one-year suspension imposed on Tahiti’s Reynald Temarri by the FIFA’s ethics committee after the vote-rigging scandal ahead of the vote for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup hosts.

The 55-year-old was elected unopposed for a four-year term in January 2011 and re-elected in 2015.

Chung, who also heads the Papua New Guinea FA, has reportedly been caught up in an 18-month domestic squabble. He has denied allegations by opponents that he had illegally excluded supporters of rival John Kapi Natto from the 2016 elections.

Last year, the rival administrators set up their own Football Federation PNG and launched a 12-club National Premier League last year. The NPL, headed by Kapi Natto, was joined by top club Hekari United. By contrast only six clubs featured in the official National Soccer League.

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