Mohammed bin Hammam facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mohammed bin Hammam
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محمد بن همّام
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Bin Hammam in 2010
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| 9th President of AFC | |
| In office 1 August 2002 – 29 May 2011 |
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| Vice President | Zhang Jilong |
| Preceded by | Ahmad Shah |
| Succeeded by | Zhang Jilong (acting) |
| Chairman of Qatar Football Association | |
| In office 1 February 1992 – 1 February 1996 |
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| Preceded by | Rahman Ridzha |
| Succeeded by | Mohammed Hashem |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Mohammed bin Hammam
8 May 1949 Doha, Qatar |
| Spouse | Divorced 3 times |
| Children | 11 |
| Occupation | Football administrator |
Mohammed bin Hammam (Arabic: محمد بن همّام; born 8 May 1949) is a former football leader from Qatar. He was the president of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) from 2002 to 2011. He was also a member of FIFA's main committee from 1996 to 2011.
On 23 July 2011, FIFA banned Bin Hammam from all football activities for life. He challenged this decision, and the ban was removed on 19 July 2012 because there wasn't enough proof. However, in December 2012, FIFA banned him again for life. This second ban was due to "conflicts of interest" during his time as AFC president. In June 2014, a British newspaper, Sunday Times, reported that Bin Hammam had paid members of other football groups. This happened before his campaign to become FIFA president and before decisions were made about the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids.
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Early Life and Football Beginnings
Mohammed bin Hammam was born on 8 May 1949 in Doha, Qatar. His father was a businessman, and his mother was a nurse. He has eleven children. He started working in Qatar's football organization in 1972 and continued until 1996.
In 1975, he started his own company called Kemco. In 1976, he became the president of a football club called Al Rayyan. He left this role in 1987. A year after he left, Al Rayyan's team moved down to a lower division. He returned to the club and helped them get promoted back up. In the 1989-1990 season, they won the league for the sixth time. On 1 February 1992, he became the president of the Qatar Football Association (QFA). In that same year, the Qatari national team won their first Gulf Cup.
Leading Asian Football
In 1996, Mohammed bin Hammam joined FIFA, the world's football governing body. He then became the president of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
During his time as AFC president, he helped create the AFC Champions League, which is a major club competition in Asia. He also helped Australia join the AFC. He started a plan called Vision Asia, which aimed to develop football across the continent. He was a member of the FIFA Executive Committee since 1996. He did not support the Wellington Phoenix team from New Zealand playing in the Asian Champions League. He was re-elected as AFC president on 5 January 2011.
In March 2011, he encouraged teams from Arab and Muslim countries to play the Palestine national football team at their home stadium, the Faisal Al-Husseini International Stadium. He hoped that all teams would visit and play matches there.
Besides leading the AFC, he was also in charge of the FIFA Goal Bureau. This program gives money to football associations around the world to help them grow. He also played an important role in bringing the 2022 FIFA World Cup to his home country, Qatar.
FIFA Presidential Election 2011
In an interview with The Guardian, Mohammed bin Hammam said he might run for president of FIFA. He would have been running against the current president, Sepp Blatter. The election was decided during the 61st FIFA Congress between 31 May and 1 June 2011. Bin Hammam told the Guardian that "People have to try change. Change is good." He felt it was time for a new leader, even though he had supported Blatter in past elections. He said they had disagreed on some issues within the FIFA Executive Committee.
After a meeting of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) on 10 May 2011, the Bahamas Football Association reported that there were attempts to offer bribes for votes. This report went to Chuck Blazer, a FIFA Executive Committee member. Blazer started an official investigation. Because of what the investigation found, Bin Hammam was accused of offering bribes for votes. He was set to appear before FIFA's ethics committee on 29 May. Bin Hammam decided to withdraw from the presidential race the day before the meeting. This meant Blatter was the only candidate left.
On 29 May 2011, FIFA's ethics committee temporarily suspended Bin Hammam and Jack Warner from all football activities. This was while a full investigation into the bribery accusations was ongoing. Bin Hammam said he would appeal the decision, stating that the process was not fair. He also asked to be allowed back into his roles and explained his side of the story.
While the appeals process was happening, Zhang Jilong became the acting President of the Asian Football Confederation.
On 23 July 2011, a FIFA Ethics committee panel banned Bin Hammam for life from all football activities. The committee found that his actions broke FIFA's rules. Bin Hammam's appeal to FIFA's Appeal Committee was not successful.
He then took his appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. This court heard his appeal on 18–19 April 2012. His lifetime ban was removed by the court on 19 July 2012.
However, in December 2012, FIFA gave Bin Hammam a second lifetime ban from football. This time, it was because of "conflicts of interest" that were found during his time as president of the AFC.
Newspaper Reports
On 1 June 2014, the Sunday Times newspaper published information they received from someone inside FIFA. The newspaper reported that:
- Two days before inviting 25 members of African football groups on a trip to Kuala Lumpur, US$200,000 was taken from the Asian Football Confederation's bank accounts.
- A second trip was organized four months later. Guests were encouraged to bring their families and were given $5,000 for spending money.
- The president of the Swaziland Football Association, Adam Mthehwa, asked for a $30,000 payment.
- Mohammed bin Hammam arranged for 60 tickets for matches at the 2010 FIFA World Cup to be given to Cameroonian Football Federation President Issa Hayatou.
- Fadoul Houssein, president of the Djiboutian Football Federation, received $30,000 to help pay for medical treatment for his association's general secretary.
- Mohammed bin Hammam asked the Sudan Football Association for details to send them money after they said they couldn't afford their general assembly.
- Seedy Kinteh, the president of the Gambia Football Association, was paid $10,000. Kinteh later received $50,000 for a new car, paid through Bin Hammam's daughter's account.
- Mohammed bin Hammam paid Manuel Dende, the Sao Tome FA president, $50,000.
- He paid Izetta Wesley, the Liberian FA president, $10,000.
- He paid Kalusha Bwalya $50,000 for his "football association and personal expenditures" during a trip to Doha.
- He controlled FIFA's Goal program and paid $400,000 to the Football Associations of African FIFA Executive members (Cameroon, Nigeria, and Ivory Coast).
- He paid $50,000 to the Namibia Football Association to help their "second division leagues" that were struggling.
- He paid the Somali Football Federation $100,000 through his daughter's account.
- He paid CECAFA $200,000 three days after the World Cup bids were decided. This money was to help fund the 2010 CECAFA Cup, a tournament for East African national teams.
- Ganesh Thapa, president of the Nepalese FA, received a total of £115,000 from two different accounts of Bin Hammam's company, Kemco, in March and August 2010.
