McAllister misses out on place on FIFA ruling council

LAURA McAllister has fallen short in her bid to join FIFA’s ruling council following a vote in Montreux.

McAllister, who was undergoing her second attempt in winning a place on the world’s governing body, lost the vote 33-22 to Italy’s Evelina Christillin, who had previously held the role over the previous term.

It was the second defeat of the day for a Welsh football nominee, with Football Association of Wales (FAW) president Kieran O’Connor missing out to David Martin of Northern Ireland for the role of Fifa vice-president. Former Wales captain McAllister had hoped to become UEFA’s first female FIFA council member to have also played at international level.

The FIFA Council is one of the main decision-making bodies within the game, and is led by president Gianni Infantino.

McAllister, who also pens a regular column for WalesOnline, has previously held a number of high-profile roles in sports governance.

She was chair of Sport Wales between 2010 and 2016 and was also a board member at UK Sport during the same period.

However, despite receiving the backing of all four British football associations, her bid this time wasn’t enough to earn her a place on the council.

Taking to social media, McAllister said: “We knew it was always going to be an extremely difficult task to unseat an incumbent.

“The fact that we were just six votes short of winning the election is hopefully testament to the modern, professional and football-focused campaign that we ran.

“My commitment to our beautiful game and its core values remains as strong as ever and I will redouble my efforts to make football a game for everyone to enjoy.

“I hope I can stand for election again as my enthusiasm to drive change is undiminished.

“I’d also like to congratulate Evelina Christillin on her re-election and wish her all the best for the important work that lies ahead.”