Dodd elected AFC Female Vice President

Former Matildas vice-captain and FFA board member Moya Dodd has been elected AFC Female Vice President.

Football Federation Australia (FFA) Chairman, Frank Lowy AO, has today welcomed the election of Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa as President of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

Sheikh Salman will lead Asian football for the next two years after the Bahraini won a three-way election for the presidency of the AFC securing 33 votes of the 46 available from the AFC's member associations at the AFC Extraordinary Congress 2013 in Malaysia.

The other candidates were Thailand's Worawi Makudi (seven votes) and Yousuf Al Serkal of the United Arab Emirates (six votes).

Australia-s delegation at the AFC Extraordinary Congress 2013 included FFA Chairman, Frank Lowy AO, FFA Deputy Chairman, Brian Schwartz AM, FFA Director Moya Dodd and FFA CEO David Gallop.

Speaking at the congress Lowy welcomed the newly elected President and offered Australia-s ongoing support to continue strengthening football in the Asian region.

“FFA warmly welcomes the election of Sheikh Salman and we look forward to a close working relationship with the new President,” said Lowy.

“Over the recent past FFA has been in consultation with all of the candidates to discuss the issues and opportunities for Asian football and in particular the continuing reform process.

“We recognise that positive changes are underway and we will continue to contribute to strengthening the governance of the game across the AFC.”

Mr Lowy has hailed the re-election of FFA Director Moya Dodd as Vice President of the AFC.

“The fact that Moya was re-elected unopposed shows she enjoys widespread support within the AFC,” said Lowy.

“Moya will give Australia a voice at the AFC-s top table and contribute to football development over Asia.”

Dodd, an AFC Vice President since 2009 and the Chairwoman of the AFC Women-s Committee, was the only candidate for the position, the term of which runs until the next AFC Congress in 2015.

"I am delighted to be re-elected as AFC Vice President and very grateful to our Member Associations for their confidence in me,” said Dodd.

"The opportunities for Asian football are second-to-none. I look forward to working with our new President to better serve football, and especially women's football, on our diverse continent."

Football Federation Australia congratulates the new AFC President and other new office-bearers on their election and re-affirms its commitment to contribute actively to the development of football across the Asian continent.