AFC backs Infantino for fourth term as FIFA president

The Asian Football Confederation will support Gianni Infantino's bid for a fourth term as FIFA president, AFC head Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa said at the confederation's extraordinary congress in Tokyo.

"We affirm our full commitment to supporting you and your leadership as you seek a new mandate as the FIFA president," Sheikh Salman said. "You've visited a lot of countries in Asia. I've spoken to a lot of members within this continent. I know your feeling and I think your commitment is clear as well."

Sheikh Salman embraced Infantino with a large hug in front of the membership as he delivered the endorsement.

The AFC has 47 member confederations. Even if not all of them follow Sheikh Salman's lead, those votes could be key to guaranteeing another mandate for Infantino, who leads the governing body of world soccer.

Addressing Infantino, Sheikh Salman indicated that not every AFC member would go along with the endorsement, but that most would. "My feeling is, I'm sure, the feeling of most of my members," he said. "And I've said that to you."

The FIFA election is in March and the deadline for candidates to file against Infantino is Nov. 18. No rival candidate had filed by the time of the congress.

The endorsement marks an abrupt turnaround. Just over two months before the congress, the AFC joined the soccer governing bodies of Europe and of North and Central America in saying Infantino had committed a "fundamental breach of trust."

Infantino apologized in Zurich to FIFA's 37-member ruling council, which he chairs, for "mistakes" he made in assembling a now-scrapped $4.2 billion plan for the World Cup.

Sheikh Salman referred to the differences in his speech without going into detail. "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."

"The past I'm sure is part of our history," he added. "We've all, I'm sure, learned important lessons from it. What matters now is how we move forward together. I think everyone has questions and I'm sure the answers will be available, whether to us in Asia, or the rest of the world."