Chung Mong-joon fails in FIFA re-election bid

Chung Mong-joon

DOHA, Qatar - Korea’s Chung Mong-joon came up short in his re-election bid for FIFA vice president in what would have been his fifth term.

In a vote held here Thursday during the Asian Football Confederation Congress, Chung lost 25-20 to Jordanian Prince Ali bin al-Hussein, head of the Jordan Football Association. Prince Ali will serve until 2015.

Prince Ali is 35-years-old and is the youngest member of the FIFA hierarchy. In becoming the FIFA vice president, Prince Ali automatically becomes a member of the AFC’s executive committee.

Chung, 59, had been the vice president of the world’s football governing body since 1994. A fifth re-election would have increased his chances of running against Sepp Blatter for the FIFA presidency at the association’s global meeting in June.

Prince Ali is also the founding president of the West Asian Football Federation, which includes the likes of Jordan, Bahrain, Qatar, Iran and Iraq.

A Korean lawmaker and a scion of Hyundai Group, Chung helped bring Korea its first FIFA World Cup in 2002, as a co-host with Japan and also played a prominent role in Korea’s recent bid for the 2022 World Cup. Chung also served as the head of the Korea Football Association in the past.

Hyundai is one of the major FIFA sponsors.

At the congress, Mohamed Bin Hammam was named to his third term as the AFC President, running unopposed. Bin Hammam’s presidency will run from 2011 to 2015.

“The AFC Asian Cup is kicking off soon and I hope we will be able to witness it,” said Bin Hammam on the AFC Web site.

“You will see the changes in the competition and how we have improved over the past eight years. It has been a great effort by everyone and I’m sure it will be the best tournament ever and be the model for future events,” he added.

The AFC Congress was held on the eve of the quadrennial Asian Cup, with 16 nations in action. Korea is trying to win its first title since 1960.

Yonhap