# Asian Football Confederation backs Gianni Infantino in U-turn on Fifa presidency

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/asian-football-confederation-backs-gianni-infantino-in-u-turn-on-fifa-presidency/
- Published: 2026-10-23T07:37:56+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-23T08:08:04+00:00
- Original publisher: The Guardian (publisher lean: Left)
- Original article: https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/oct/23/asian-football-confederation-backs-gianni-infantino-u-turn-fifa-president
- Topics: Asia, Cybersecurity, Football, Government, Politics, Sport, Technology, World

## Key points

- The AFC has backed Infantino for another Fifa term.
- Its 47 member associations could help secure his re-election.
- The endorsement reverses August’s criticism over a scrapped $4.2bn plan.

## Summary

The Asian Football Confederation has endorsed Gianni Infantino for another term as Fifa president, reversing its criticism of him two months ago. The shift matters because the AFC’s 47 member associations could help secure his re-election, scheduled for March.

In August, the AFC joined Uefa and Concacaf in accusing Infantino of a “fundamental breach of trust” over a proposed $4.2bn plan to sell parts of the World Cup to private investors; he apologised to Fifa’s council last week after the plan was scrapped. AFC president Sheikh Salman said most of its members supported Infantino, though not necessarily all, and nominations close on 18 November. No challenger has emerged so far. Infantino also said Fifa’s payments to each member association would rise from $1m every four years to $25m from 1 January.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.