Asian Football Confederation backs Infantino for fourth term as FIFA president
publishers 17articles 19first reported 20 Oct, 04:59 UTCdeveloping since 20 Oct · 13 editions
The Asian Football Confederation endorsed Gianni Infantino’s bid for a fourth term as FIFA president on Friday, reversing its position after criticizing his handling of an abandoned plan to bring private investment into FIFA competitions.
At an AFC extraordinary congress in Tokyo, confederation president Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa told Infantino that Asia was committed to supporting his campaign. Sheikh Salman acknowledged past disagreements but said the organizations should move forward together. Infantino thanked delegates and praised the development of Asian football.
The endorsement follows an August statement in which the AFC joined UEFA and CONCACAF in condemning Infantino’s proposed restructuring. The plan involved selling a 20% stake in a subsidiary established to run FIFA competitions, including the World Cup. The Associated Press described it as a scrapped $4.2 billion proposal. Infantino apologized to the FIFA Council last week for mistakes in the project’s communication and consultation process.
Infantino, who has led FIFA since 2016, told the BBC on Saturday that he had support from the “vast, vast majority” of FIFA’s 211 member associations, citing endorsements in Asia and Africa. Opposition remains strongest in Europe, where UEFA has sought answers about his leadership and said it would look for an alternative candidate.
The presidential election is scheduled for March. Challengers have until November 18 to submit nominations, and no rival candidate has yet emerged. Japan’s football association said it aimed to align with the AFC but had not made its own decision.
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Written from 8 articles, 7 with the publisher's own text; 8 independent newsrooms once syndicated copies count as one; this version written 108 h after the record first saw the story; the editor kept it as written.
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