Zhang Jilong
 |
Zhang Jilong | |
|---|---|
张吉龙 | |
Salman Al-Khalifa | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 9 February 1952 Yantai, Shandong, China |
| Occupation | Football administrator |
Zhang Jilong (
Early life
Zhang was born in Yantai, Shandong Province, China. Zhang graduated from Beijing International Studies University in 1975 and joined the National Athletic Committee and worked in the foreign affairs department. He joined the Chinese Football Association in 1978 when it was established.[3]
AFC career
In 1989, Zhang joined the
FIFA suspended
In September 2012, due to his age Zhang retired from his role as foreign affairs director at the State Sports General Administration, but continued to preside over the AFC in his capacity as Acting Chairman. In February 2013, Zhang Jilong announced that he would withdraw from the elections of the next AFC President and FIFA Executive Committee
2002 World Cup draw
Originally, for World Cup 2002 FIFA wanted to carry out the seeding of the teams by calculating and referencing to the match records from the previous three World Cups. However, on the day before the draw, the president of FIFA,
Because this new rule would work against the Chinese team, Zhang called the secretary of the Asia Football association, Veerapan, and asked to personally meet up with Blatter to discuss the proposed rule. Zhang asserted that "FIFA should not interfere with the internal affairs of the Asia Football association" and asked Blatter to take back the new rule. Veerapan accepted Zhang's proposal and announced that he would discuss the matter with Blatter. Finally, the draw for the games took place in Bangkok on June 1, 2001, and the draw followed the rules originally set by the Asia Football Association instead of the new proposed rule. As a result, the Chinese football team achieved a "lucky draw" and was seeded with the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Qatar, and Oman. China won first place in the group and successfully entered the finals of the game.
References
- ^ [1][permanent dead link]
- ^ "Zhang Jilong". Archived from the original on 2012-08-25. Retrieved 2011-06-14.
- ^ Zhang with 30 years football record
- ^ "Asian Football Association vice-president Zhang Jilong takes the reins from suspended Mohamed bin Hammam". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2018-09-25.