The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has endorsed Gianni Infantino for another term as FIFA president, according to its head, Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa. The endorsement was delivered on Friday at the AFC’s extraordinary congress in Tokyo, where Infantino, who leads world football’s governing body, is seeking a fourth term.
The AFC has 47 member confederations. Sheikh Salman acknowledged that not every member would back Infantino, but he said those that do could be central to securing another mandate for him. The FIFA election is set for March, and the deadline for candidates to file against Infantino is November 18. So far, no one has filed.
Sheikh Salman’s endorsement in Tokyo
Sheikh Salman embraced Infantino in front of the membership as he made the announcement. He told Infantino that the AFC was committed to supporting his leadership as he seeks a new mandate.
Addressing Infantino directly, he said he had spoken with many members across the continent and understood Infantino’s commitment. “My feeling is, I’m sure, the feeling of most of my members,” Sheikh Salman said, adding that he had told Infantino this before.
A sharp reversal from earlier criticism
The endorsement marks an abrupt change in the AFC’s position. Just over two months earlier, the AFC had joined the football governing bodies of Europe and North and Central America in saying Infantino had committed a “fundamental breach of trust”.
Infantino apologised last week in Zurich to FIFA’s 37-member ruling council, which he chairs. He acknowledged “mistakes” he had made in assembling a plan to sell a stake in FIFA events, including the World Cup, to private investors. The plan, valued at $4.2bn, has since been scrapped.
Sheikh Salman referred to the earlier disagreements in his speech but did not go into detail. He said the two sides should not link past issues with the present, pointing to a “true understanding” reached during recent meetings in Zurich. He also said the answers to people’s questions would become available in time.
Infantino’s response and patronage payments
Infantino spoke after Sheikh Salman and kept his remarks brief. He said that while doing many good things, mistakes also occur, and that the important step was to learn from them, apologise and move forward together.
The loudest applause came when Infantino described growing payments through FIFA’s patronage network. He said each member had once received $1m every four years before he became president, and that from the first of January next year the figure would be $25m. Sheikh Salman had earlier joked that Infantino might have a “clone” given how many countries he has visited, a remark that drew laughter.
