NEW DELHI: In a development that came out of left field as it were, India and all six other members of the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) have pulled out of a Saudi Arabia-led new football bloc with immediate effect, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) confirmed late Tuesday.
SAFF, which besides India comprises Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives, Sr Lanka and Pakistan, have left South West Asian Football Federation (SWAFF) on the eve of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) congress in Kuala Lumpur.
SWAFF was formed in August 2018 and it comprised of 14 members. The members of West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) and SAFF amalgamated to form this fifth regional federation.
“The withdrawal precedes the expected official recognition of AFC’s five regional federations by the AFC congress on Wednesday,” AIFF said in a statement.
An AIFF official told PTI that SWAFF head Adel Ezzat of Saudi Arabia’s intentions to stand against AFC president Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa of Bahrain in the April 2019 elections of the AFC was the reason behind the pull-out from SWAFF. He said the SAFF members have been told by Sheikh Salman, who is expected to be re-elected president, that it would be better for them to pull out of SWAFF.
“Adel Ezzat is likely to stand for the AFC presidency next year and he has expressed his desire to do so. So, we cannot remain under the SWAFF which is headed by Ezzat,” the AIFF official told PTI on condition of anonymity.
Earlier reports had speculated that the birth of SWAFF came to the fore due to a rift in WAFF between Jordanian president Prince Ali bin Al Hussian and Saudi Arabian authorities after the former turned down offers to shift its headquarters from Amman to Jeddah. Other media reports had speculated that new alliance was being driven by the Saudis due to the festering political conflict it has ongoing against Qatar, which is due to stage the next FIFA World Cup in 2022. Another motive ascribed to the Saudis in leading the setting up of SWAFF was to undermine the status of Sheikh Salman and Prince Ali.
Prince Ali is a former FIFA vice-president who challenged disgraced former FIFA president Sepp Blatter in the world football governing body’s presidential election of 2015.
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