Asian football chief backs Infantino as FIFA governance questions remain

Asian Football Confederation president Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa has backed Gianni Infantino's bid for another term as FIFA president, BBC Sport reported. Speaking at the AFC Congress in Tokyo with Infantino present, Salman said the confederation supported a new mandate for the incumbent, who faces an election in Rabat in March.

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The endorsement follows a dispute over FIFA Forward Enterprise, an abandoned private-investment proposal. Just two months earlier, Salman had joined the leaders of UEFA and Concacaf in a letter criticising Infantino's handling of the scheme. In Tokyo, he acknowledged past disagreements but said recent discussions in Zurich had produced an understanding, separating those issues from his support for Infantino's candidacy.

Asia has 46 votes in the presidential election. According to BBC Sport, Infantino also has established backing in Africa and South America, making the Asian endorsement important to his pursuit of a fourth and final term. The deadline for candidates to enter the contest is 18 November. No challenger had filed at the time of the report, leaving open the possibility of an uncontested election.

The investment controversy remains unresolved at governance level. In its reporting on the 15 October FIFA Council meeting, the BBC said the proposed scheme would have transferred part of FIFA's commercial rights to a private investment firm. Infantino apologised for shortcomings in communication and consultation, while emphasising that the plan had been a proposal rather than a completed agreement. He said its purpose was to increase investment in member associations.

Football Association chair Debbie Hewitt said after that meeting that requested documents had still not been supplied. She acknowledged Infantino's apology but said answers about the proposal were necessary before she could judge whether he remained the right candidate. Infantino said written answers would follow, according to the BBC's account of his video statement.

UEFA has subsequently set a 2 November deadline for FIFA to provide documents and respond to governance questions. BBC Sport reported that its letter contained 42 questions across eight pages, including who initiated and authorised the investment project. Salman's electoral endorsement therefore comes while the European confederation is still seeking a fuller explanation of how the abandoned proposal was developed.