Bahraini royal Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa became scandal-hit Asian soccer's new leader on Thursday with a crushing election win following a campaign filled with intrigue and controversy.

The sheikh, who has faced claims of outside interference and even rights abuses, won 33 of the 46 votes to become president of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), replacing disgraced ex-leader Mohamed bin Hammam.

With Yousef al-Serkal of the United Arab Emirates and Thailand's Worawi Makudi gathering just six and seven votes respectively, it was a landslide victory for the Bahraini FA chief who will now complete Bin Hammam's current term, which finishes in 2015. The Qatari had been elected unopposed as AFC president for a third four-year term in 2011.

"My mission is to reunite our confederation. My mission is to lead our family toward a future of growth and prosperity, a future based on good governance and integrity," Sheikh Salman said.

"Today, the Asian football family is at a crossroads. Today we have the power to erase a chapter in our history."

Sheikh Salman was referring to the spectacular demise of Bin Hammam, who challenged for the FIFA presidency but was accused of vote-buying and then of financial wrongdoing in office. He stepped down last year.

The AFC has been in limbo ever since, with China's Zhang Jilong's interim leadership beset by numerous match-fixing and graft scandals among member associations.

Sepp Blatter, the president of world governing body FIFA, praised the job done by Zhang in leading the AFC during turbulent times.

"He did a very good job in a very difficult situation, showed a lot of commitment in a period, as you know very well, wasn't very easy for the AFC," Blatter said Thursday.

"Maybe we should regret he is no longer in this position but it was his decision to give it back. He deserves, from the Asian community, a special reward."

The presidential election result was greeted by loud celebratory cheers and shouts in Arabic from the floor after a speedy process which was carried out at a plush hotel in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur.

Sheikh Salman also beat out Qatar's Hassan al-Thawadi for a seat on FIFA's executive committee.

Agencies - Global Times