FIFA President Infantino’s re-election endorsed in U-turn by Asian football

Asian football has performed a dramatic U-turn by endorsing FIFA president Gianni Infantino for another term, in a move that could secure the Swiss administrator a fourth mandate at the helm of world football.

Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, president of the 47-member Asian Football Confederation, announced the endorsement at the AFC's extraordinary congress in Tokyo on Friday, embracing Infantino in a hug in front of the assembled delegates.

"We affirm our full commitment to supporting you and your leadership as you seek a new mandate as the FIFA president," Sheikh Salman said, adding that he believed most of the confederation's members would follow the direction even if not every one did.

The endorsement marks an abrupt reversal. Just over two months ago, the AFC joined the football governing bodies of Europe and North and Central America in accusing Infantino of a "fundamental breach of trust" over a now-scrapped $4.2 billion plan to sell a stake in FIFA events, including the World Cup, to private investors. Infantino apologised last week in Zurich to FIFA's 37-member ruling council for what he called "mistakes".

Acknowledging the past friction, Sheikh Salman said both men had learned important lessons from it and that what mattered was moving forward together.

Infantino, whose re-election bid faces no declared challenger before the November 18 filing deadline, told delegates that member federations would receive $25 million every four years from January - up from $1 million when he took office.