AFC president endorses Infantino for fourth FIFA term after investment-plan dispute

Asian Football Confederation (AFC) president Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa has endorsed Gianni Infantino's bid for a fourth term as FIFA president. He spoke at an AFC Congress in Tokyo, which Infantino attended.

The FIFA presidential election is scheduled for March. The deadline for candidates to stand against Infantino is 18 November. No candidate had filed when Al Jazeera and BBC Sport reported the endorsement.

About two months earlier, the AFC joined UEFA and Concacaf in publicly criticising Infantino. They accused him of breaching trust over a plan to sell stakes in FIFA events, including the World Cup, to private investors. That plan was scrapped. In the week before the congress, Infantino apologised to the FIFA Council over it.

In his speech, Sheikh Salman acknowledged past issues with Infantino. He referred to a recent meeting with him in Zurich but did not detail their differences.

According to Al Jazeera, the Tokyo meeting was an extraordinary congress held on Friday. It valued the scrapped plan at $4.2bn. Al Jazeera also reported that Sheikh Salman embraced Infantino in front of the membership.

According to BBC Sport, the criticism came in a joint letter signed by the three confederation heads. BBC Sport reported that Infantino did not fully explain to the FIFA Council how the proposal was devised. It said Infantino could stand unopposed if no rival files, and described Africa and South America as his power base.

What is disputed

Al Jazeera says the AFC has 47 members. BBC Sport says Asia will have 46 votes in the election. The outlets also quote Sheikh Salman's core endorsement with slightly different wording.

What each side says

Sheikh Salman said the AFC supports Infantino and that past issues should not be linked to the endorsement. Both outlets quoted him as saying: "As one Asian family, we are ready to move forward, united in your support, Gianni." Al Jazeera quoted him as saying: "My feeling is, I'm sure, the feeling of most of my members."

Infantino acknowledged mistakes. Al Jazeera quoted him as saying: "When you do many things, you do – hopefully, as we did, many good things – you do some mistakes as well." According to Al Jazeera, he said each member association received $1m every four years before his presidency, rising to $25m from 1 January next year. The reports reviewed by Vocemundi do not include independent verification of these figures.

According to BBC Sport, UEFA has demanded that FIFA release key documents and answer questions on its governance and decision-making by 2 November. The reports do not describe whether FIFA has responded.

Analysis

The endorsement suggests that at least the AFC leadership has moved past the dispute over the investment plan, but the reports do not describe what was agreed in Zurich or whether member associations are bound by it. If no challenger files by 18 November, Infantino could stand unopposed, according to BBC Sport. UEFA's demand for documents remains a possible point of friction, and the reports do not describe UEFA's or Concacaf's current positions on his re-election. Whether Infantino's development funding pledges influence voting is a question the reports do not settle.

Produced by the Vocemundi newsroom with AI assistance.