AFC president Sheikh Salman backs Gianni Infantino at Tokyo meeting

At a Tokyo meeting of the Asian Football Confederation on Friday, October 23, 2026, AFC president Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa said the region would support Gianni Infantino's bid for re-election as FIFA president; Infantino, the 56-year-old Swiss, was present.

Sheikh Salman's endorsement came weeks after widespread criticism of Infantino's aborted plan to open FIFA's premium competitions to private investors, including a proposed World Cup selloff. The AFC had joined UEFA and CONCACAF in condemning that proposal in August, and Infantino has faced calls to quit and lost the backing of some national associations.

Sheikh Salman gave what the report described as unequivocal backing to Infantino and said the move was a significant boost to the FIFA president's prospects of extending his reign. "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," Sheikh Salman said, adding that Infantino's support across Asia was clear.

Addressing the AFC Extraordinary Congress and Infantino directly, Sheikh Salman acknowledged earlier disagreements: "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 private investment project, answered the AFC's backing by praising the continent's role in the game's growth: "We have seen the transformation that Asian football, and as a consequence world football, has gone through in these years. "It has become truly global. It has become for everyone, and this would not have been possible without a strong, a united, a committed Asia. And for this, I thank you very much."

Two months earlier the AFC and Sheikh Salman had signalled they might turn on Infantino, joining UEFA and CONCACAF in a joint letter that declared football "belongs to no individual." The confederations wrote: "Leadership in football is not a possession. It is not about holding — or demanding — power to be held," and added: "When trust is broken through deception, when an individual places himself above the collective that entrusted him with authority, that duty has been abandoned," the confederations said. Despite that row, Infantino has received backing from the Confederation of African Football while CONMEBOL is largely supportive, confederations do not vote as blocs and there have been supportive voices within CONCACAF; AFC members Kuwait and Qatar, and the Saudi Arabian football federation, which will host the 2034 World Cup, had previously backed him. Many leading European national associations have withdrawn their support for Infantino over controversies including his close relationship with US President Donald Trump, and no heavyweight candidate has put themselves forward to run against him so far.

The deadline for candidates to declare for the FIFA election is November 18. Infantino is running for re-election in March.