13 Jun 2018

Sport: Ni-Vanuatu to lead scandal plagued OFC

9:42 am on 13 June 2018

The head of football in Vanuatu has taken over leadership of the Oceania Football Confederation after the body's previous president resigned amid corruption allegations.

Lambert Maltock, the Vanuatu Football Federation president, was elected acting president of OFC during its congress held on Monday in Moscow.

Lambert Maltock

Lambert Maltock Photo: OFC via Phototek

Maltock's election also makes him a FIFA Vice-President and gives him a seat on the FIFA Council alongside fellow OFC representatives Lee Harmon from the Cook Islands and Sandra Fruean of American Samoa.

Papua New Guinea's David Chung quit his roles as OFC and Papua New Guinea Football Association presidents in April, citing personal issues.

The Malaysia-born administrator was first elected PNGFA president in 2004 and had been OFC president since 2011 but quit two days before a meeting of the OFC executive when it was understood he would face a vote of no-confidence.

David Chung

David Chung Photo: OFC via Phototek

In April, OFC announced an internal investigation into potential wrongdoings after an audit ordered by world football's governing body, FIFA, identified possible fraud in a project to build a new headquarters for the OFC in Auckland.

Chung had also come under pressure in Papua New Guinea following the formation of Football Federation PNG, a rival organisation not recognised by OFC or FIFA, which launched in 2016 and established its own domestic competition, the National Premier League.

A new permanent OFC president is due to be elected when the current four-year term expires in January 2019.

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