Milestone election for Oceania Football Confederation

FOR the first time in its 49-year history, the Oceania Football Confederation will be represented by three candidates on the Fifa Council — football’s highest governing body.
American Samoa’s Football Federation vice-president Sandra Fruean was elected OFC’s women’s representative to the Fifa Council 2016-19 following a secret ballot.
Joining her will be Cook Islands Football Association president Lee Harmon, who was appointed by proclamation following the withdrawal of Fiji’s Rajesh Patel.
OFC president David Chung retains his role as Fifa vice-president, rounding off the three OFC representatives to the Fifa Council.
Fifa president Gianni Infantino could not make the journey to Oceania to attend the extraordinary congress and was represented by his advisor Mattias Grafstrom.
Infantino, via video link, expressed his excitement for the new dawn for his friends from OFC, who he affectionately named “the Oceania 11”.
“It’s an important day in which you will elect two new members to the Fifa Council,” Infantino said.
“I hope that you will make the right decision today. You have some excellent candidates.”
Chung noted the milestone for the confederation.
“It is clear that three voices will be louder than one, so we can only hope that the decisions taken today will mean the voice of Oceania will continue to be heard,” Chung said.
“I would like to thank you all for the opportunity to be one of those voices.
For Fruean, it was an emotional occasion, for which she expressed gratitude to each of the member associations that voted for her.
“I will be working hard to represent our confederation’s interests,” Fruean said.
A servant of football for over 25 years, Harmon was equally touched  for the support shown.  – OFC