AFC rallies behind embattled Infantino

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — The head of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) on Friday said the region supported Gianni Infantino’s bid for reelection as International Football Federation (FIFA) president following fierce criticism of his aborted World Cup selloff plan.

The 56-year-old Swiss was present at a Tokyo meeting of the AFC when president Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa gave his unequivocal backing.

The AFC in August had joined UEFA (Europe) and CONCACAF (North and Central America and the Caribbean) in condemning Infantino over his plan to open FIFA’s premium competitions such as the World Cup to private investors.

Infantino has faced calls to quit and has lost the support of many associations in his bid to be reelected to a fourth and final term.

“I think that we reaffirm our full commitment, of course, to supporting you and your leadership as you seek a new mandate as FIFA president,” said Sheikh Salman, in a significant boost to Infantino’s prospects.

“I think you’ve visited a lot of countries in Asia. I’ve spoken to a lot of members within this continent.”

“I know your feelings, and I think your commitment is clear as well. Your support to Gianni is very clear.”

Hinting at previous discord, Sheikh Salman told the AFC Extraordinary Congress and Infantino: “Gianni, yes, we had some issues we spoke about in the past.

“But let’s not relate the two things together. We need to move forward... football is strongest when we work together.”

Infantino, who apologised last week for the failed project, has headed FIFA since 2016 and is running for re-election in March.

The deadline for submitting candidacies is 18 November.