Asia backs Infantino for fourth FIFA term despite past clashes
Asia's football body has backed Gianni Infantino for a fourth and final term as FIFA president, months after its own leader helped criticise him over a failed World Cup plan.
The endorsement came from Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, president of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), the group of national associations that runs the sport across Asia. He made it at the AFC Congress in Tokyo, where Infantino was present. According to BBC Sport, Sheikh Salman said the AFC fully supports Infantino as he seeks a new mandate.
The backing is striking because of what came before. Sheikh Salman had earlier signed a joint letter with the heads of UEFA, Europe's governing body, and Concacaf, which covers North and Central America and the Caribbean. The letter criticised Infantino over his plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors. That plan failed. The three confederations accused him of breaking trust "through deception" over the FIFA Forward Enterprise scheme.
Infantino later apologised for the sell-off plan at a FIFA Council meeting, the board that steers the organisation between its big gatherings. Sheikh Salman said at the Tokyo meeting that it was time to move forward despite those past problems. He also said he and Infantino had met in Zurich in the days before Congress and reached a clear understanding.
Infantino, for his part, has proposed raising the money available for football development around the world by $3.4bn (£2.6bn).
The election will take place in Rabat, Morocco, in March. Each confederation has a set number of votes. UEFA has 55, Africa 54, Asia 46, Concacaf 35, Oceania 11 and Conmebol, the South American body, 10. Asia's 46 votes make up just under a quarter of the 211 total.
Candidates have until 18 November to confirm they are standing against Infantino. So far, nobody has filed. If that stays the case, he could be re-elected without a contest, which is what "unopposed" means here.
Meanwhile, UEFA has told FIFA it must release key documents and answer all its questions about how it governs and makes decisions by 2 November. That deadline sits alongside the wider debate over the World Cup plan and the trust that was damaged by it.
For casual fans, the headline is simple: a region that was among Infantino's sharpest critics has now lined up behind him. The question for the next few weeks is whether anyone else steps forward to challenge him, and whether the deadlines set by Europe's governing body are met.
