KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — The Asian Football Confederation will hold elections in May for a new president to replace the scandal-tainted Mohammed bin Hammam.
Acting president Zhang Jilong announced on Thursday that the AFC would hold an extraordinary congress in Kuala Lumpur on May 2-3 to elect a president.
Bin Hammam, who became AFC president in 2002, was found guilty of vote-buying during his challenge against FIFA president Sepp Blatter in 2011 and FIFA’s ethics committee suspended him from all soccer activity for life.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned that ban last July, but bin Hammam remained under provisional bans by both FIFA and AFC as investigations continued into allegations of financial irregularities during his tenure. He resigned from soccer on Dec. 17 and was again banned for life by FIFA.
