Asian Football Confederation Endorses Infantino for Fourth FIFA Term, Two Months After Signing 'Breach of Trust' Letter

Since UEFA gave FIFA until Nov. 2 to hand over documents and answer questions about its governance, Infantino has picked up a major endorsement. On Friday, Oct. 23, Asian Football Confederation president Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa told an extraordinary AFC congress in Tokyo that the confederation backs Gianni Infantino for a fourth term as FIFA president.

"We affirm our full commitment to supporting you and your leadership as you seek a new mandate as the FIFA president," Sheikh Salman said, according to the AP. Infantino was in the room. Sheikh Salman embraced him in front of the membership.

A reversal in two months

In August, the AFC joined UEFA and Concacaf in saying Infantino had committed a "fundamental breach of trust" over a plan to sell a stake in FIFA events, including the World Cup, to private investors. The BBC reported that the three confederations accused him of breaking trust "through deception" over the Fifa Forward Enterprise scheme.

That plan, valued at $4.2 billion, is now scrapped. Last week in Zurich, Infantino apologized to FIFA's 37-member Council, which he chairs, for "mistakes" he made in putting it together. The BBC reported that he did not give a full explanation of how the proposal was devised.

Sheikh Salman acknowledged the split but declined to dwell on it. "Gianni, I want to make it clear: Yes, we had some issues we spoke about in the past," he said. "But let's not relate the two things together. I think the last few days we met in Zurich, you made it clear that there's a true understanding between us."

He added that "the past I'm sure is part of our history" and that "everyone has questions, and I'm sure the answers will be available, whether to us in Asia or the rest of the world."

Not every AFC member is on board

Sheikh Salman did not claim unanimity. "My feeling is, I'm sure, the feeling of most of my members," he said. The AFC has 47 members, and the endorsement does not bind them. Each federation votes for itself.

The arithmetic still matters. At the election in Rabat in March, UEFA will hold 55 votes, Africa 54, Asia 46, Concacaf 35, Oceania 11 and Conmebol 10, according to the BBC. Asia is the third-largest bloc. An Associated Press tally published earlier this month had Infantino edging toward a simple majority of FIFA's 211 member federations, before the AFC move.

The opposition in Europe

The endorsement lands against open criticism. AFP reported that Infantino has faced calls to quit and has lost the support of many European national associations, citing controversies that include his relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump. UEFA's demand for documents and answers by Nov. 2 remains outstanding.

No one has filed to run against him. The deadline for candidates is Nov. 18, and as of today none has done so. AFP described the field as lacking a heavyweight challenger, and the BBC noted Infantino could stand unopposed.

How the votes are being sought

Infantino has spent months traveling to promote a new funding model that FIFA's Council approved last week. AP reported that FIFA's media office has been publicizing his trips, which seek votes in exchange for millions more dollars in financial support for small and large football countries. The BBC reported that he also proposed raising development money by $3.4 billion.

Sheikh Salman leaned into the travel in his speech. "I know you have been everywhere," he told Infantino. He joked that Infantino might have a "clone." The biggest applause came when he repeated his support at the end of his remarks.

The AFC's Tokyo meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday, and Friday's congress, were closed to media. The official events were broadcast on the AFC's YouTube channel.

What comes next

Two dates now frame the contest. UEFA's Nov. 2 deadline for FIFA to release documents and answer questions comes first. The Nov. 18 candidacy deadline follows. If no challenger files by then, Infantino heads into the March vote in Rabat with Asia's leadership publicly behind him and Europe's top body still demanding answers.