Asia's football body backs Infantino for fourth FIFA term
- The Asian Football Confederation has endorsed Gianni Infantino's re-election as FIFA president at a congress in Tokyo.
- The backing reverses Asia's criticism two months ago of his plan to sell World Cup commercial stakes to private investors.
- No rival has declared for the March vote in Rabat, Morocco, and nominations close on November 18.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has thrown its weight behind Gianni Infantino's push for a fourth term as FIFA president, a boost for the incumbent before the vote in March.
AFC president Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa made the pledge at the confederation's congress in Tokyo, with Infantino in the room. He told delegates Asia was committing fully to supporting Infantino's new mandate.
The endorsement is a turnaround. Two months ago, Sheikh Salman joined the heads of UEFA and CONCACAF in a joint letter condemning Infantino over a plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors. The letter said trust had been broken and questioned the judgement behind the proposal.
On Friday, Sheikh Salman asked members to leave that dispute behind. He said he had spoken to many associations across the continent and their support for Infantino was clear. He described Asia as one family ready to move forward together.
Infantino said he felt great about the backing. He praised Sheikh Salman's 13 years leading Asian football and promised FIFA's continued partnership with the confederation.
Why it matters for African football
Africa's governing body, the Confederation of African Football (CAF), has already backed Infantino, and South America's CONMEBOL is largely supportive. Asia's 46 votes now sit in his column too, according to the public positions of the confederations.
The numbers at the March election in Rabat, Morocco: UEFA 55 votes, Africa 54, Asia 46, CONCACAF 35, Oceania 11 and CONMEBOL 10. Confederations do not vote as blocs, so individual associations can still go their own way.
For Nigerian fans, the presidency shapes how FIFA shares money for development, pitches and competitions across the continent. Infantino has proposed raising worldwide football development funding by $3.4 billion (£2.6 billion).
He has also apologised to FIFA's Council for how he handled the abandoned World Cup investment plan, without giving a full account of how it was put together.
What happens next
UEFA has given FIFA until November 2 to release key documents and answer questions about its governance and decision-making.
Candidates who want to challenge Infantino must confirm by November 18. None has come forward so far, and possible contenders Victor Montagliani of CONCACAF and Aleksander Ceferin of UEFA have said they are not running, leaving open the chance Infantino stands unopposed.
