Al Hosni elected chairman of OAA

Saif Al Hosni, former vice-chairman of Oman Football Association (OFA) swept more than half of votes to be elected as the chairman of Athletic Association (OAA) yesterday. In the OAA board elections held at Zaker Mall in Al Khuwair, Al Hosni grabbed 19 votes from the 24 clubs who voted while his predecessor Hamad Al Jabry could only get four votes, while former Omani athlete Jihad Al Shaikh received just one vote. Speaking to Times Sport soon after the victory, a delighted Al Hosni said he would fulfil his agenda during the next four years. Al Hosni will be at helm till 2016. "This is a great moment in my life. I had the confidence in winning it because my agenda that I set straight to these clubs were promising. I am hopeful of fulfilling them,- he said. Al Hosni who has a vast knowledge at the administrative level said he would focus on having Omani members at IAAF. "We need to have some of our members also in the key positions and also in the GCC then only we can reach great heights,- Al Hosni said. Apart from Al Hosni, the others who are elected are Ahmed Al Marhoon who will be the vice-chairman, Said Al Qasmi will be general secretary and Hamdan Al Boshari will be the treasurer. Interestingly, former board members Faiz Al Kiyumi who was contesting for the post of general secretary and Khalfan Al Jufali who was running against Al Boshari pulled out after the election. "Both Faiz and Al Qasmi had equal votes (11 vote each) and similarly Khalfan and Al Boshari too had equal votes. However, they (Faiz and Khalfan) decided to pull out of the race. It was their own decision,- informed Khaleefa Al Jabry of Ministry of Sports Affairs who was monitoring the election. The other five board members elected are: Majid Al Busafi, Ali Al Shahri, Mohammed Al Asmi, Obaid Al Manwari and Khalfan Al Wali. Former chairman Al Jabry said the OAA will be in safe hands of Al Hosni. "I accept this defeat. Al Hosni is a good administrator and I am sure he has the ability in taking OAA to great heights,- he added. Times Of Oman