Kuwait’s Husain al-Musallam made history Saturday by becoming the first Asian man to become the President of world swimming body FINA at its annual Congress in Doha.
Al-Musallam was elected unopposed, replacing Julio Maglione of Uruguay who held the position for 12 years. The Kuwaiti was a vice-president of the global body under Maglione.
Al-Musallam competed for Kuwait in the 70s, representing his country in the World Championships, the Asian Games and the Pan Arab Championships.





A total of 319 votes were cast by FINA members in the Presidential election.
Al-Musallam received 302 votes in favour, with seven candidates voting against his election and 10 abstentions.
“You are looking at the proudest and most humble man in Doha,” al-Musallam said.
“Thank you for putting your trust in me. I will not let you down. Today is the start of new journey for the aquatics family together.
“It is the culmination of a lifetime voyage for me and the honour of being elected your President.”
Qatar Olympic Committee president HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al-Thani also attended the Congress.
“It is our great honour to host you in Qatar today for the FINA General Congress 2021. We hope you enjoy your stay with us and that despite the COVID-19 restrictions it will be as enjoyable and comfortable as possible,” said HE Sheikh Joaan.
“We had the honour of hosting the FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) in 2014. And of course we are preparing to host the FINA World Aquatics Championships & World Masters Championships in 2023,” HE Sheikh Joaan said.
“And with so much water surrounding us, Qatar is a country that is very passionate about aquatics.”
HE Sheikh Joaan added: “We have no doubt hosting these events will only strengthen our love of your sport and inspire the next generation. We look forward to working closely with you over the next two years to deliver this prestigious event.”
”This is the world we are all living in at the moment and we must continue to take every precaution to protect our health and the health of those around us. But as you, at FINA, are showing, this does not mean we have to stand still.”
The Congress elected 16 FINA Bureau members from continental organisations en bloc.
South Africa’s Sam Ramsamy, Morocco’s Zouheir El Moufti, Uganda’s Ronald Rukare and Senegal’s Mohamed Diop were elected from Africa.
Paraguay’s Juan Carlos Orihuela, Barbados’ Errol Clarke, Canada’s Cheryl Gibson and United States’ Dale Neuburger were the Americas representatives.
China’s Zhou Jihong, Oman’s Taha Al Kishry and Kazakhstan’s Andrey Kryukov were elected from Asia, with Italy’s Paolo Barelli, Spain’s Fernando Carpena, Greece’s Dimitrios Diathesopoulos and Britain’s David Sparkes securing European spots.
Matthew Dunn of Australia was the sole Oceania representative.
The newly elected FINA Bureau will serve a four-year term.
Ramsamy and Dunn were confirmed as FINA first and second vice-presidents respectively, with the remaining vice-president spots secured by Zhou, Orihuela and Barelli.
A further eight world at large members were elected, including Mauritius’ Doreen Tiborcz, Bahamas’ Algernon Cargill, Uruguay’s Veronice Stanham, Japan’s Daichi Suzuki, India’s Virenda Nanavati and Cook Islands’ Romani Katoa.
The Netherlands’ Erik Van Heijingen and Portugal’s Antonio Silva won a contested election for the two European spots, with the pair chosen ahead of Ukraine’s Andrey Vlaskov.
Van Heijingen and Silva earned 275 and 267 votes, respectively, with Vlaskov earning 62.
Incumbent Dale Neuburger was re-elected FINA treasurer.