Oman Football

Al Busaidy wins Oman Football Association poll

Staff ReportPublished: September 01, 2007, 00:15
Muscat: Sayyid Khalid Bin Hamad Bin Hamoud Al Busaidy on Thursday won the three-way contest for the Chairman's post in an historical first election to vote Oman Football Association board to office for a four-term.

The election for Chairman and Vice Chairman was so closely-fought that two observers - Fifa's Eisa al Hosni and Asian Football Confederation's (AFC) Charmaine Pereira had to order three rounds of voting to determine the winners.
Under football's governing body's regulations, a winner could be declared only after polling over 51 per cent of votes.

Saleem Bin Qasim Al Zawawi bowed out of the contest after polling only five votes in the first round. Finally Sayyid Khalid, who was nominated by Seeb Club, polled 29 votes against 14 polled by Sayyid Suleiman Bin Hamoud Al Busaidy, who held the vice-chairman's post in the outgoing board.



Earlier, the general assembly of 43 members also elected Salem Bin Said Al Wahaibi, first vice-chairman and Shaikh Saif Bin Hilal Al Hosani as second vice-chairman.
The newly-elected nine board members of the OFA are Talal Al Amer, Ebrahim Al Qasmi, Hasan Al Ajami, Sa'ad Al Shamis, Naser Al Balushi, Nayef Al Marhoon, Seif Al Jabri, Ahmad Al Habsi and Talal Al Amri. The new association will meet today to assign the roles to each member and discuss the future plan of the OFA.

"It's milestone in the history of Oman football. Probably this is the first time in the Middle East a football association is elected after a democratic voting process," said Sayyid Khalid, who as the President of Fanja Club brought the country's first team trophy in 1989.