The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has officially announced its backing for Gianni Infantino to secure another term as president of FIFA. Speaking at an extraordinary congress of the organization in Tokyo, AFC head Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa delivered a strong endorsement, potentially cementing the path for the incumbent's fourth term at the helm of world football.

The FIFA election is slated for March, with the deadline for potential challengers to file their candidacies set for November 18. Observers note that no opposing candidates have formally stepped forward thus far. While Sheikh Salman acknowledged that not all 47 member associations within Asia would uniformly follow the directive, he expressed confidence that the majority would fall in line with the leadership's stance. *

This endorsement marks a striking reversal for the AFC leadership. Just over two months prior, the confederation had aligned with European and North American football governing bodies in accusing Infantino of committing a 'fundamental breach of trust' over scrapped plans to sell equity in major FIFA tournaments to private investors. Despite these severe criticisms and subsequent closed-door discussions in Zurich, the parties appear to have mended fences.

Critics and European stakeholders have frequently viewed the current FIFA leadership's extensive global travels and promises of vastly expanded financial disbursements with considerable skepticism, interpreting them as strategic moves to secure votes. During the congress, Infantino acknowledged past missteps regarding financial planning but emphasized the necessity of learning from experience and uniting under his ongoing financial patronage network.

Source: www.aljazeera.com