Mahfuza Akhter
Born (1967-02-12) 12 February 1967 (age 57)[1]
East Pakistan
NationalityBangladeshi
TitleMember, FIFA Council
Term2017–present
PredecessorMoya Dodd

Mahfuza Akhter Kiron (Bengali: মাহফুজা আক্তার কিরণ; born 12 February 1967) is a Bangladeshi football administrator and a member of the FIFA Council.

In May 2017, Akhter won the election for the seat on the FIFA Council reserved for Asian women. She ran against the incumbent Australian Moya Dodd, who had held the seat from 2013 to 2016, and gained 27 votes to Dodd's 17.[2]

Akhter was "heavily criticised" following an interview by the BBC World Service, when she struggled to name the current women's world champions, replying "Korea", then "Japan", and then the correct answer, the US.[3]

In March 2019, she was arrested for allegedly defaming the Bangladeshi prime minister, Sheikh Hasina.[4] In a televised interview, Akhter had claimed that the prime minister "maintain[ed] double standard for football and cricket."[5]

References

  1. ^ "FIFA Council Members". FIFA. Archived from the original on 19 July 2020. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  2. ^ "Bangladeshi Mahfuza Akhter wins seat for Asian women on FIFA Council". ESPN. Associated Press. 8 May 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  3. ^ Luke Brown (8 May 2017). "Fifa's newly elected female official criticised for struggling to name current women's world champions". The Independent. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  4. ^ "BFF's women wing chairman Kiron arrested in Dhaka". The Daily Star. 16 March 2019. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  5. ^ "Bangladeshi FIFA council member jailed". USA Today. 17 March 2019. Retrieved 5 July 2020.


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