《TAIPEI TIMES》 Chiou I-jen elected soccer head, FIFA official approves

By Jason Pan / Staff reporter

Taiwan-Japan Relations Association President Chiou I-jen （邱義仁） was named chairman of the Chinese Taipei Football Association at a general assembly in Taipei on Saturday.

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Chiou’s appointment as the head of Taiwanese soccer, along with new deputies and board members, were endorsed by FIFA, which sent Sanjeevan Balasingam, the global soccer body’s regional director for Asia and Oceania, to preside over the assembly.

The Asian Football Confederation also followed the battle for the top job, acting as arbiter over the past year, and had two observers in Taipei, including international relations officer Purushottam Kattel.

It is Chiou’s second term in charge of the national soccer association after serving from December 2005 to January 2010.

A member of Democratic Progressive Party, Chiou was National Security Council secretary-general from 2004 to 2008.

No voting was needed to determine Saturday’s result, as the association’s electoral committee had confirmed Chiou as the sole candidate.

The committee sent notice of the situation late last month after former chairman Lin Yung-cheng （林湧成） dropped out of the race, as he did not have enough support.

Balasingam said that with only one candidate, no balloting was needed.

At a news conference after voting was completed for three deputy chairpeople — Lu Kuei-hua （呂桂花）, a former head coach of the national women’s team; Hsiao Yung-fu （蕭永福）, a professor of athletics and sports education at National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology; and Hsieh Chun-huang （謝俊煌）, chairman of the Chinese Taipei Ice Hockey Federation — and three supervisors, Balasingam congratulated Chiou and said the election had been run in a fair and democratic manner.

“FIFA is ready to work with the new governing team and help Taiwanese soccer make progress,” Balasingam said.

“The association needs restructuring and the new team will continue to push for reform,” Chiou said. “Together we can propel Taiwanese soccer to the next level.”

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES