The Asian Football Confederation has announced that 46 of its 47 member nations will be eligible to vote for the regional soccer body’s new president at its election in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.
Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa of Bahrain, Yousuf Al Serkal of the United Arab Emirates and Thai Worawi Makudi are standing in Thursday’s vote.
Outsider Hafez Al Medlej of Saudi Arabia unsurprisingly withdrew on the eve of the vote after failing to win full support of the West Asian region.
The three are vying to replace disgraced Qatari Mohamed Bin Hammam, who was banned for life by Fifa in 2011. The AFC has been in limbo ever since, with Zhang Jilong’s interim leadership beset by numerous matchfixing and graft scandals among member associations.
Sepp Blatter, the president of world governing body FIFA, said it was time for Asian soccer to move forward.
“It is a historical day because it is a day of election, a day of election in your confederation that has been in a difficult situation during the past two years,” said Blatter.