KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Sheik Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa of Bahrain has been elected president of the Asian Football Confederation, replacing longtime rival Mohamed bin Hammam.
Sheik Salman comprehensively beat bin Hammam alliesYousuf al-Serkal of the United Arab Emirates and Thailand’s Worawi Makudi in voting by 46 member federations.
Sheik Salman received 33 votes on the first ballot, two more than needed for outright victory.
The Bahraini royal was elected despite criticism since 2011 that he didn’t do enough to protect national team players from human rights abuses during pro-democracy protests.
Thursday’s election formally replaced Qatari official bin Hammam, who FIFA expelled from football for alleged corruption.
