ASIAN Football Confederation president Mohamed bin Hammam has declared he will not alter his style of running world football's largest regional body despite only narrowly winning a fierce election campaign to retain his seat on FIFA's executive committee.
Hammam secured only half of the 46 votes available at the AFC Congress in Kuala Lumpur today for the seat on the game's governing council but defeated Sheikh Salman Al Khalifa when the Bahraini polled 21 votes, with two soiled ballots swinging the result in the Qatari's favour.
The 60-year-old had threatened to stand down from his post at the helm of Asian football if he lost, turning the vote into a referendum on his presidency.
That prompted significant criticism from the opposing camp of Hammam's style of management in addition to numerous personal attacks, which culminated yesterday with FIFA vice president Dr Chung Mong-joon questioning Hammam's sanity.
But, despite unflattering comparisons of his management style to that of a dictatorship, Hammam promised to keep running the regional body in the way he has since he became president in August 2002.
"I'm not going to change my style of administering Asian football," he said. "I have had full democracy and transparency since I became president.
"I do respect the laws and the statutes of the AFC and I respect the laws of Asia, I never practised anything beyond that. All 46 members are equal."
The win came on Hammam's 60th birthday and he hailed the win as something of an upset, coming as it did against the financial might and political muscle of the Olympic Council of Asia and major nations such as Saudi Arabia, Japan and South Korea, who backed Sheikh Salman.
"The result of this election gave me the biggest gift today," he said. "The competition was tough. I worked very hard for the last few months to win.
"A lot of people lifted me up. I was demoralised and tense and people from all over Asia came to support me. My best friends maybe let me down more than the other people. I'm really happy to know I'm so much loved in Asia.
"I didn't have the same financial or political capabilities as the other camp and I still won. This is the biggest present for my birthday."
Hammam is now vowing to put the election battle behind him and work to heal the deep divide that has opened up within the confederation as he tries to take Asian football forward once again.
"I would love to forget the past," he said. "The past is past. We have to think about the future from now on as it's better for Asian football."
The 60-year-old had threatened to stand down from his post at the helm of Asian football if he lost, turning the vote into a referendum on his presidency.
That prompted significant criticism from the opposing camp of Hammam's style of management in addition to numerous personal attacks, which culminated yesterday with FIFA vice president Dr Chung Mong-joon questioning Hammam's sanity.
But, despite unflattering comparisons of his management style to that of a dictatorship, Hammam promised to keep running the regional body in the way he has since he became president in August 2002.
"I'm not going to change my style of administering Asian football," he said. "I have had full democracy and transparency since I became president.
"I do respect the laws and the statutes of the AFC and I respect the laws of Asia, I never practised anything beyond that. All 46 members are equal."
The win came on Hammam's 60th birthday and he hailed the win as something of an upset, coming as it did against the financial might and political muscle of the Olympic Council of Asia and major nations such as Saudi Arabia, Japan and South Korea, who backed Sheikh Salman.
"The result of this election gave me the biggest gift today," he said. "The competition was tough. I worked very hard for the last few months to win.
"A lot of people lifted me up. I was demoralised and tense and people from all over Asia came to support me. My best friends maybe let me down more than the other people. I'm really happy to know I'm so much loved in Asia.
"I didn't have the same financial or political capabilities as the other camp and I still won. This is the biggest present for my birthday."
Hammam is now vowing to put the election battle behind him and work to heal the deep divide that has opened up within the confederation as he tries to take Asian football forward once again.
"I would love to forget the past," he said. "The past is past. We have to think about the future from now on as it's better for Asian football."
Copyright (c) Press Association
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