SINGAPORE — While Football Association of Singapore (FAS) president Zainudin Nordin had previously announced his intention to step down from his role during the organisation’s impending elections, he could still find himself heavily ­involved in the game, albeit on a larger scale.

The 52-year-old, along with seven other candidates, was officially given the green light by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) last Friday to contest one of three available seats on the Fifa Council.

The election will be held at the AFC Extraordinary Congress on Sept 27 in Goa, India.

After close to seven years of helming FAS, Zainudin, who also served as a council member of the Asean Football Federation, explained he is now looking to focus his efforts on “contributing and serving” the sport at the international level.

“I have been contributing to sports and football administration for more than 14 years, and I have found the work tremendously enriching and satisfying,” said Zainudin.

“And I would like to continue to contribute and serve at the international level. I am therefore honoured to be eligible to contest for a Fifa Council position.

“There is new leadership at Fifa with changes taking place, and there are signs of renewed confidence. As part of the changes, there will be an election at Asian level to bring new Council members into Fifa.

“I want to provide a positive value-add to these improvement efforts. I believe it will be an interesting contest. And I will work hard to win the necessary support and votes,” he said.

The other candidates for the Fifa Council include Chinese Football Association first vice-president Zhang Jian, AFC vice-president Ali ­Kafashian Naeni of Iran, Korea Football Association president Chung Mong-gyu and ­Qatar Football Association vice-president Saoud Abdulaziz Al-­Mohannadi.