BAHRAIN: Asian confederation president Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa will run for re-election at congress on April 6.

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Sheikh Salman, who has been AFC president since 2013, confirmed at an executive committee meeting in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, that he was proud of the journey on which the organisation had embarked on in the last five years and that ‘he wanted to continue with that work.’

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He will face competition.

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Adel Ezzat, new president of the South West Asian Football Federation, has already announced his own intention of seeking the AFC’s top job.

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Sheikh Salman said: “The greater good of the Asian confederation and its members is a priority and we have seen the progress that we have made in the last five years. Football has shown the power to bring nations together and to do good.

“I am proud of what we have achieved in that time and I am not ready to leave this organisation into a state of chaos. We have all seen what the AFC was before, and we have seen what it looks like now and I hope that we can continue that progress.

“My intention has always been to do the best for Asia and we have seen the strides we have made in the last five years through our football and also through the record commercial rights deal and this has been because of the support and understanding we have achieved.”

Shaikh Salman added that the objective of the AFC was not only to raise standards throughout the continent but close gaps between the inspiring and developing nations and likewise, between aspiring and developing countries.

He said: “If we are to raise standards we need to invest – in facilities, competitions and personnel. Together we have achieved more in the last few years through unity and solidarity than at any stage in our history and this is something not only to be proud of but also to cherish.”

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