ENGLISH DEYEA NEWS

By JOHN DUERDEN / AP WRITER | SEOUL — A proposed move of the Asian Football Confederation's headquarters from the east to the western fringe of the region is polarizing opinion in the diverse continent.

The AFC has been based in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur since 1965, but on July 29 the region's top official, Mohamed Bin Hammam, invited bids from member associations interested in becoming home to the governing body.

So far, only Qatar—Bin Hammam's home nation—and the United Arab Emirates have expressed definite interest in challenging Malaysia as host. With some members of the confederation already uneasy about the growing power of the west Asian region in continental football politics, debate in the next months is set to intensify.

Former AFC general secretary Peter Velappan, a veteran Malaysian administrator, criticized the move in an open letter sent to the AFC's annual congress in Shanghai this month. He had earlier called any move "foolish."

"I would respectfully request the potential bidders to withdraw their bids if they are seriously committed to safeguarding the stability and future of Asian football," Velappan wrote. "The history and culture of Asian football should not be subject to an auction to the highest bidder."

Bin Hammam, a FIFA executive committee member and aspirant for football's top job, has dismissed Velappan's criticism and told the AFC's Web site that Malaysia has first right of refusal and that the AFC simply wants to formalize relations with government in the host country.

"We need terms and conditions we can agree upon and which both parties can commit to," Bin Hammam said. "That is the reason we are looking at shifting our headquarters."

The oil-rich Gulf nations appear more willing to accept the demands made by the AFC, a list which reportedly includes interest-free loans, tax breaks and diplomatic status for top officials.

Malaysia cannot match the incentives.

"We don't want to bid because the demands of the AFC are too extreme," Azzuddin Ahmad, general secretary of Football Association Malaysia (FAM) told The Associated Press. "We can't explain why the AFC wants to move, they have been here for 44 years and everything has been going well."

Reports in Malaysia's domestic media claim that the AFC's demands are red herrings and that the organization decided to leave Kuala Lumpur as early as 2004 in order to further Bin Hammam's political ambitions by moving closer to Europe and the headquarters of FIFA.

In 2006, permanent local employees at AFC House were put on three-year contracts that will end on December 31, 2009.

Qatar Football Association general secretary Sauod Al Mohannadi has put the case forward for Doha.

"We succeeded in organizing some of the world's biggest sports events previously, and I don't see why we can't pull this off. We are a small country, but we believe in our chance," he said.

Doha, Qatar hosted the 2006 Asian Games and entered an ambitious bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics before dropping out of the race. It will host the 2011 Asian Cup football championships.

Moving the headquarters wouldn't be easy. South Korea, the most successful of the Asian nations in terms of World Cup appearances, has already expressed doubts about the need to move the AFC. Its powerful neighbors in the Far East, such as China and Japan, have been silent so far but are thought to be against the idea along with the southeast Asian bloc.

"To approve the move, the AFC will need to get two-thirds of the vote when the member associations hold a congress next June," Ahmad said. "From what we gather and have been told, they will not be able to succeed."

The AFC has 46 member associations which together comprise 60 percent of the world's population. The newest member, Australia, switched from the Oceania confederation after the 2006 World Cup. Of the members 12 are in West Asia—one of four sub-regions of the AFC.

Despite the confident tone, Malaysian officials are still worried. As well as a number of Gulf nations, some prominent figures in Asian soccer are happy to see the body move west.

Afshin Ghotbi led Tehran giant Persepolis to the Iranian league title in May and after years as South Korean assistant coach; he knows the scene on both ends of the continent.

"There are many advantages of having the AFC office in UAE or Qatar, especially Dubai," Ghotbi said. "Dubai is rapidly becoming the most international city in Asia, it is a shorter distance to most European and African countries with more direct flights and the importance and growth of football in the Middle East compared to Malaysia is also something to consider."

The International Cricket Council—which moved from Marylebone in west London—is one global sports organization that has moved to Dubai for the tax breaks.