Jung Mong-gyu, President of the Football Association, Announces Candidacy for FIFA Council Election

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-won] Chung Mong-gyu, president of the Korea Football Association, has thrown his hat in the ring to rejoin the FIFA executive committee.

On the 1st, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) announced the final candidates running for the AFC Executive Committee election for a four-year term from 2023 to 2027 on its website. The election will be held at the 33rd AFC Congress in Manama, Bahrain, on February 1 next year.

The AFC Executive Committee members to be elected this time include the AFC President (who concurrently serves as FIFA Vice President), Vice Presidents, female executive members, FIFA Council members, and AFC Executive Committee members. President Chung Mong-gyu is running as a candidate for the FIFA Council member. The "FIFA Council" replaces the former executive committee and is the body that deliberates on FIFA's major policies.

President Chung ran for the FIFA Executive Committee election in 2015 but was defeated. He was then elected as a FIFA Council member in May 2017 and served for about two years. The last Korean to enter the FIFA executive body was Chung Mong-joon, honorary president of the Korea Football Association, who served as a FIFA executive committee member for 17 years from 1994 to 2011. Chung Mong-gyu was the first since then.

However, President Chung failed to be re-elected as a FIFA Council member in April 2019. At that time, he also failed to secure reappointment as AFC Vice President.

Seven candidates, including President Chung, have entered the race for the FIFA Council member election this time, and five will be selected. Current FIFA Council members Zhao Kai (China), Koj? Dashima (Japan), and Mariano V. Araneta Jr. (Philippines) are seeking re-election, while Sheikh Ahmad Khalifa Al Thani (Qatar), Yasser Al Misehal (Saudi Arabia), and Datuk Haji Hamidin bin Haji Mohd Amin (Malaysia) are new challengers.