Al Romaithi, a member of the AFC Executive Committee, and AFC vice-president Al-Mohannadi both confirmed their intention to stand for the top job at the continental governing body by last week's deadline.

Adel Ezzat of Saudi Arabia had been widely expected to mount a challenge for the Presidency after he resigned from his post as head of his country's football association in August but was not on the list of candidates confirmed by the AFC.

Shaikh Salman, who unsuccessfully stood for FIFA President last year, announced his intention to secure a fresh four-year term at the AFC’s Executive Committee meeting in Tashkent in September.

The Bahraini royal claimed at the meeting in the Malaysian capital that he had the support of 90 per cent of the AFC's 46 full members.

Shaikh Salman was first elected President in 2013 as the replacement for Qatar's Mohamed bin Hammam, banned for life for corruption offences.

He served the final two years of Bin Hammam's term and was then elected for a full four-year stint at the helm in 2015.

Al-Mohannadi, a vice-president of the Qatar Football Association, was initially banned for one year in 2016 by the FIFA Ethics Committee for refusing to cooperate with a corruption inquiry before the sanction was overturned on appeal.

The suspension prevented him from standing in the AFC's elections for the FIFA Council, a decision which the members of the continental body rebelled against.

They protested by bringing an abrupt end to the AFC Congress in Goa in 2016, which lasted just 30 minutes and prevented the elections from taking place.

Al-Rumaithi is Commander-in-Chief of Abu Dhabi Police and a member of the Executive Council of the emirate of Abu Dhabi.

He is also the UAE’s chairman of the General Authority of Sport and the United Emirates Football Association.

The election is due to be held at the AFC Congress in Kuala Lumpur on April 6.