PFF’s Mariano Araneta among AFC representatives on FIFA Council
THE PHILIPPINES will continue to have a representative on the FIFA Council as the country’s football federation president Mariano Araneta was reelected for the post in elections held at the 29th Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Congress in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, at the weekend.
Mr. Araneta, the longtime Philippine Football Federation (PFF)president, was elected for a second term to the council, serving from 2019 to 2023.
In a release from the AFC given to members of media, Mr. Araneta got a simple majority after one round of voting, receiving 34 votes from the 46 AFC member associations present during the congress.
Mr. Araneta, 64, is among six member representatives from the AFC to the FIFA Council, joined by His Excellency Du Zhaocai (China PR), Praful Patel (India), Kohzo Tashima (Japan), Saoud A. Aziz M A Al-Mohannadi (Qatar) and Mahfuza Akhter Kiron (Bangladesh).
Including AFC President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, who is also the FIFA Vice-President, the AFC will have seven members on the FIFA Council.
“It is a great honor to be once again elected to the FIFA Council. I thank the Asian football family for giving me the opportunity to again serve in FIFA as a council member,” Mr. Araneta was quoted as saying by the PFF Website after his election.
Mr. Araneta was first elected to the FIFA council in 2017, making history as the first PFF president to achieve such a feat.
The FIFA council is the top decision-making body of football’s world governing organization, tasked to set the vision for the sport globally and FIFA as a group.
FIFA FEMALE COUNCIL
Meanwhile, Mahfuza Akhter Kiron secured the simple majority required when she obtained the most votes in the elections for the FIFA Female Council position.
She also secured the simple majority in the South Zone, and will be joined on the AFC Executive Committee by Han Un Gyong (DPR Korea) for the East Zone, Kanya Keomany (Laos) for the ASEAN Zone and Susan R. A. Alshalabi (Palestine) for the West Zone — all of whom confirmed their places by acclamation.
The elections for the AFC Female Executive Committee member for the Central Zone, which was uncontested during this Congress, will be held at a later date. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo
