Iranian soccer official Ali Kafashian has dropped out of an election to join the FIFA Council, and officials from South Korea and Philippines have entered.
The Asian Football Confederation says four men are competing for three seats on the ruling council at a rescheduled election on May 8 in Bahrain. The contenders are Zhang Jian of China, Sheik Ahmad Al Sabah of Kuwait, Mariano Varaneta of Philippines and Chung Mong-gyu of South Korea.
The original election meeting in September was stopped after the FIFA ethics committee barred Saoud Al-Mohannadi of Qatar from running. Then, AFC vice president Kafashian was a candidate.
Sheik Ahmad, an influential IOC member, is seeking to retain his FIFA position despite Kuwait’s suspension from world soccer and the Olympic movement since 2015 because of government interference.
