The Qatar Football Election chief was selected on Saturday as leader of the newly-inaugurated body, which aims to revolutionise the administration of the sport in the Middle East. A final name was also chosen for it in Doha, changing from Arabian Gulf Football Federation to reflect the importance of the Middle East’s premier international tournament.
He will be supported by UAE Football Association supremo Marwan bin Ghalita, who was voted in unopposed as vice-president by the eight member nations. Al Thani chose to thank both his new No2 and the man he beat last month in the UAE FA elections, Yousuf Al Serkal, during his victory address.
He said: “I know the GCF has shown great confidence in me and I assure I will do my best to take the game forward in this region.
“Everyone knows the importance of the Gulf Cup, which has been continuing for more than 40 years. We must now push it forward.
“I also want to thank Yousuf Al Serkal for his stint as president of the UAE Football Association and offer my congratulations to the new president, Marwan bin Ghalita. I wish him success in his work.”