MANAMA (Bahrain), Feb 1 ― The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) president Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin is vying for the post of Fifa Council member for the 2023-2027 term at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Congress here today.

Hamidin is among the seven candidates contesting for Asia’s five male representatives in the Fifa Council during the 33rd AFC Congress which started at 10am (3pm Malaysian time) at the Gulf Convention Centre.

He will be challenged by incumbents Du Zhaocai of China, Kohzo Tashima (Japan) and Mariano Areneta Jr. (Philippines), as well as Mong Gyu Chung (South Korea), Sheikh Hamad Khalifa A. A. Al Thani (Qatar) and Yasser H. Almisehal (Saudi Arabia).

Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah was the first Malaysian to serve in the FIFA Council following His Majesty’s victory in the 2015 Congress, while the late Tan Sri Hamzah Abu Samah served as the FIFA vice-president for eight years from 1982 until 1990.

Meanwhile, President Shaikh Salman Ebrahim Al Khalifa is set to return for the AFC’s top post unopposed for another four years.

The Congress is also expected to decide on the 2027 Asian Cup host, with Saudi Arabia as the sole remaining bidder following withdrawals from India and Qatar, who took the 2023 edition rights replacing China. ― Bernama