Asia's new football chief said he was the victim of a smear campaign involving a government after his election was overshadowed by claims of vote-buying and human rights abuses. Bahrain's Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, who was voted president of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) by a big margin on Thursday, refused to name the country in question but said he knew who was to blame.

FIFA executive committee member Manilal Fernando said Wednesday he will mount a legal challenge against a ban preventing him from working in football for eight years following an ethics probe. The former Sri Lankan football chief said he had not been told the reasons for the decision taken Tuesday to ban him from any type of football-related activity locally or internationally. In a statement issued in Colombo, his lawyers said Fernando was taking the issue to the independent Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

Rio's fabled Maracana Stadium reopened on Saturday after a multimillion-dollar makeover that will make the legendary arena the showpiece venue of the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics. A limited crowd of approximately 25,000 spectators thronged the fabled venue, which hosted a world record audience of more than 200,000 for the 1950 World Cup but has now had its capacity reduced to a maximum of 82,238. Spectators for the test event watched a friendly exhibition match between select teams led by Brazilian World Cup winners Bebeto and Ronaldo.

By Mike Collett LONDON (Reuters) - The sudden resignation from FIFA's executive committee of Paraguayan Nicolas Leoz means almost half the men who decided on the hosts for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup finals have left world soccer's governing body. Leoz, 84, president of the South American confederation CONMEBOL, has quit the executive role he has held with FIFA since 1998 and his position as CONMEBOL's president after 26 years.