Welsh chief Trefor Lloyd Hughes upset over David Gill nomination

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David GillImage source, Getty Images
Image caption,

David Gill is a Manchester United director and FA vice-chairman

Football Association of Wales president Trefor Lloyd Hughes has accused his English counterparts of not keeping to an agreement on who should have the next British Fifa vice-presidency.

Hughes and the Football Association's David Gill are competing for the post.

Britain is guaranteed a Fifa vice-presidency but, for the first time, Uefa members will vote to appoint the candidate, in Vienna on Tuesday

"The English FA have really, really upset me," Hughes said.

Wales believe that England have gone back on a 2011 agreement by the four home nations which guaranteed their nominee to succeed Northern Ireland's Jim Boyce.

"The four associations in 2011, September 20th, agreed that the next one in 2015 was Wales, simple as that," Hughes said. "I've got it in my room. The agreement is there."

The agreement, signed by the previous FA chairman David Bernstein, says: "The order of rotation shall be IFA (2011-15) - FAW - SFA - FA - IFA etc in perennity."

Image caption,

An image of the agreement that FAW president Trefor Lloyd Hughes says the FA has reneged upon

However, Gill says the agreement became void after Fifa reforms which mean the British Fifa vice-presidency is now elected by all Uefa members instead of just the four home nations.

"We need to understand and explain that the rotation system ended," FA vice-chairman Gill said.

"It is more democratic. If those changes in Uefa's statutes had not taken place then, yes, Trefor would be on there. But it has happened and we need to move forward."

Hughes does not dispute that the voting process has changed, but does not see why this should make a difference to the nominee put forward by the home nations.

"The point I'm trying to make is... the agreement was there. If you can't keep to an agreement, the principle of the agreement is what I'm after and I think the English FA, I think they cannot believe in principles anymore.

"I would say that Uefa and Fifa have changed their statutes - totally agree, 100%. The principle of the agreement is... so that everyone could get their turn to go up."

The row also seems to have further damaged the chance of combined men's and women's football teams representing Great Britain at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.

Media caption,

FAW chief worried over threat to Wales

Fifa has indicated it will not give permission for a GB Team to compete unless all the home nations agree.

The fear for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland is that a united British team could risk their independence with world football's governing body.

"We only got a letter at the end of January saying they want to put a team in the Olympic Games. We knew nothing about it. Nobody told us," Hughes said.

"No agreement, no discussion. They are the bosses in the UK - or they think they are - but not anymore. I think I've highlighted what they are doing in the game of football in the UK.

"I think they want to take over everything. They won't do it, I can guarantee you that, but the point is that's the worry I have and I'm not too sure where the FA is coming.

"It's not David Gill, let me make that absolutely clear. It's the English FA that have done it."

Despite opposition from the other home nations, combined GB teams did compete at the London 2012 Olympics.

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