Chung Mong-gyu in race for FIFA Council seat again

By John Duerden

Chung Mong-gyu is the president of the Korea Football Association (KFA) but wants a seat on the FIFA Council. It has been noted by more than one international observer that he is looking to follow in the footsteps of his older cousin.

Chung Mong-joon was also the boss of the KFA but is well remembered around the world for his time with FIFA. He was vice president of football’s world governing body from 1994 to 2011 and an influential figure. Chung did have ambitions to run for FIFA president in 2015 but was suspended from football by FIFA’s ethics committee due to alleged improprieties during Korea’s bid for the 2022 World Cup. Chung said the move was politically motivated and he denies any wrongdoing.

Now the younger executive has thrown his hat into the ring to represent Asia on the council. The elections will be held in May in Bahrain as the Asian Football Confederation meets.

The council succeeds FIFA’s now-defunct Executive Committee as the main decision-making body. The old Exco was disbanded after a fair proportion of its 24 members were imprisoned, banned or disgraced due to various corruption, bribery and/or fraud scandals.

The new council has been expanded to 37 members. The AFC has four seats up for grabs this time, with one reserved for a female member. That leaves Chung competing with three male officials for the remaining spots.

Those candidates are China’s Zhang Jian, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah from Kuwait and Mariano Araneta of the Philippines. Chung is already set to extend his time as one of the AFC’s four vice presidents but has long coveted a place among the global power brokers alongside Japan’s Kozho Tashima, Prince Tengku Abdullah from Malaysia and AFC president Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa.

Chung was originally planning to run for this post in September but withdrew to focus on his position as head of the South Korean team to the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

The AFC vote did not go ahead as members decided not to hold a vote in protest at what was seen as overbearing influence from FIFA.

Now Chung ― who lost in his first attempt to get on the FIFA committee in 2015 ― has another chance.

“Because of the election postponement, I’ve got the opportunity to run for the seat again,” Chung said. “I will meet with various football officials in Asia and explain my vision and sincerity for the development of football.”

He has a chance, though, to be competing for East Asian votes with his Chinese rival. Zhang Jian is the vice president and secretary general of the Chinese Football Association. China is becoming increasingly influential in the world of soccer, with the Chinese Super League making international headlines through a massive spending spree on world-famous players and coaches. The country also is looking for more influence off the field and a place on FIFA’s main decision-making committee would be a logical step.

For Chung, who has been in charge of the KFA since 2013, there is plenty of flying ahead, to be followed by the shaking of hands and the scratching of backs.

His cousin was on FIFA’s committee for 17 years while Chung junior would welcome just a fraction of that time.