October 23 – The president of the Asian Football Confederation, Shaikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, has pledged Asia’s support to FIFA president Gianni Infantino in his bid for re-election for a fourth term.
The AFC had initially called for Infantino’s dismissal after he failed to explain his actions in trying to sell all of FIFA’s commercial rights in the FFE scandal. Infantino apologized for the error last week at the FIFA Council and has promised to answer all questions about the FFE scheme and the growing discontent with his leadership at FIFA.
This apology seems to be enough to reverse his position and support Infantino. It happened after Qatar’s intervention publicly criticized Salman, saying he did not speak for them. Saudi Arabia later issued a brief and terse statement of support for Infantino, after appearing ambivalent about his continued leadership of FIFA.
While the basis of Infantino’s power base has traditionally been his control of Africa, his prolonged courtship with the leaderships of the two Gulf countries has given him political support far beyond that of the local FAs.
In his welcome speech at the AFC Extraordinary Congress in Tokyo, Japan, Salman said: “Since we gathered for our Congress in Vancouver (May 2026), a lot has happened in the world of football. But we must anchor our future firmly in the firm beliefs of transparency, unity and inclusion.”
Speaking of a “deep reflection” on what really happened in recent weeks, Salman said “football is based on trust and respect”, calling it “our shield” in difficult times, perhaps the “darkest hour in the history of football”.
“Our greatest strength lies in our unity, and we have all seen the historic heights Asian football can reach when we stand together. The remarkable journey and historic achievements of the Asian game are deeply rooted in the strong partnership, trust and shared vision we share as a united family,” Salman said.
“As we look to a brighter and more competitive future, our solidarity remains our greatest strength. We stand ready to move forward, united in support of FIFA President Gianni Infantino.”
Salman referenced the previous era when they all had more hair as he struck a personal and friendly tone with Infantino, who then responded with hair jokes: They’re bringing up the topic at conferences.
“Gianni, I want to make it clear, yes, we had some problems that we talked about in the past. But we don’t relate the two things together. I think the last few days when we met in Zurich you made it clear that there is a real understanding between us.”
He added: “I’m sure the past is part of our history. I’m sure we’ve all 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 it’s for us in Asia or the rest of the world.”
Scenography by Infantino
After Salman had spoken, Infantino took the podium and for 15 minutes went over his key election messages in his typically circular style, and without addressing the controversy swirling around him.
Telling the heads of AFC’s national associations that this was a “special moment”, he praised Salman’s 13 years of leadership of AFC before stepping forward with the brand’s message that “football unites the world”.
“Football is an emotion for everyone in the world. Our shared and joint responsibility is to create opportunities for your boys and girls.”
He reiterated his oft-heard mantra that football has truly gone global (wasn’t the world’s game once global?), tailoring it to his local audience, saying it “wouldn’t have been possible without a strong and committed Asia”.
The expanded World Cup (48 teams) offered “more opportunities and more opportunities” with a record entry of 9 teams from Asia. In the same way, he mentioned the U15 festival that is about to start in Azerbaijan saying that “now all the boys from all the countries of the world have the possibility to dream, to come together”. The girls will have to wait, they’re used to it.
No Infantino address would be complete without a strong reference to the money he has generated from football. “When I started as FIFA president, you were getting $1 million. From January 1, it will be $25 million, for you to invest in the future of our game.”
He did not mention that it was only 25 million dollars for the intervention of the presidents of the Confederation that forced FIFA to open its reserves to give more money to its members. It was not an Infantino initiative, as he had already budgeted and approved $10 million for each partnership for the next cycle.
“We expect a lot of good things to come,” Infantino said. “There have been some mistakes. It’s important to learn from them and we’ve apologized. Now it’s important to come together, come together and move forward.”
“We can look to the future confidentially. We always try to look ahead. We can always count on Asia and you can always count on FIFA.”
It was a reassuring message to the Asians who were politely making sure Infantino wasn’t having a bad hair day.
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