Salman Bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa

Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa (; born 2 November 1965) is a Bahraini football administrator. he is Senior Vice-president of the FIFA Council. He has been president of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) since 2 May 2013. Before becoming president of the AFC, he had been president of Bahrain Football Association (2002–13), chairman of the AFC Disciplinary Committee, and deputy chairman of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee.

He is member of the House of Khalifa, the royal family of Bahrain, and has been accused of involvement in the crackdown on dissidents since the Arab Spring in Bahrain. He has denied these allegations.

Early life and education Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa was born on 2 November 1965 in Bahrain. He is a member of the royal family of Bahrain. He is the second son of Ibrahim bin Hamad al-Khalifa and Aisha bint Salman al-Khalifa, daughter of Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa I, the ruler of Bahrain from 1942 until his death in 1961.

He graduated from the University of Bahrain in 1992 with a bachelor's degree in English literature and history.

BFA Since leaving Riffa Club to focus on his academic studies, Salman has held executive positions at the Bahrain Football Association (BFA). In 1996, he became chairman of the national team. In 1998, he was elected vice-president of the BFA, and president in 2002, supported by Football Federation Australia despite concerns about his human rights record being raised by former socceroo Craig Foster, Professional Footballers Australia, and others.

He was re-elected for another term as AFC President in February 2023 until 2027.

FIFA Salman has held the post of co-chairman of the disciplinary Committee of the FIFA World Cups, the FIFA Beach Tournaments, and the FIFA Club Championships. He was deputy chairman of the FIFA disciplinary committee at Beijing in 2008. He became a member of the FIFA Executive Committee in 2013, as president of the AFC. Despite being touted as a favourite, he was defeated by UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino. This was attributed in part to his alleged involvement in the brutal suppression of pro-democracy protesters in Bahrain since the Arab Spring in Bahrain in 2011.

Effects on women's football Although the problems of women's football in Iran and Afghanistan slowed down the development of football in the Middle East and Central Asia, he paid attention to women's football in these countries. In an example, he visited one of the women's football academies in Iran. However, women's football problems in Iran were still reported.

Allegations of human rights breaches Human rights defender groups such as Human Rights Watch, Human Rights in Bahrain, and the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy, have said that Salman headed a committee that was tasked with identifying international Bahraini footballers and other athletes who were, involved in the 2011 Bahraini uprising during the Arab Spring. Many were imprisoned

Some athletes, such as Hakeem al-Araibi, who had played for the national team, fled the country during subsequent purges in the years following.