Infantino receives unexpected support from AFC chairman Salman

Gianni Infantino appears to be on track for an extended term as FIFA president, a development that is striking given the earlier fierce opposition of Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, chairman of the Asian Football Confederation AFC. The KNVB, which previously announced its withdrawal from cooperation with Infantino, now faces an unexpected twist.

AFC chairman changes course

Sheikh Salman signed a letter in which the AFC, like UEFA and CONCACAF, originally strongly opposed Infantino’s plan to sell World Cup shares. However, at a congress in Japan he said: “We express our support”, and added that he appreciated Infantino’s leadership and found the recent meetings in Asia very positive.

The AFC has 47 members and Salman believes that all these associations will vote for Infantino. He also stated that both South African and South American countries have expressed their support.

Infantino had wanted to set up a company that would bundle the rights and commercial activities of both the men’s and women’s World Cup and the Club World Cup, with an estimated value of around 20 billion dollars. FIFA decided to scrap the plan; operating director Kevin Lamour became the biggest casualty.

KNVB’s changed position

The KNVB had earlier this year publicly declared that it wanted Infantino to go, but now that wish seems to be fading. Journalist Willem Vissers wrote in De Volkskrant: “A true metamorphosis at the KNVB, the association of brave chests that suddenly stands on the barricades.”

Another columnist noted that the KNVB had for years tried to exert influence through diplomatic channels, but now seems to embrace a course of transparency and sustainability, while protest voices in Europe continue to target the president who, in their view, has claimed football.

With the support of the AFC chairman, Infantino gains a solid base for re‑election, causing the KNVB’s earlier plans to break away from FIFA to now be on shaky ground. In the coming months the votes within the confederations and the eventual election of the FIFA president will reveal whether this turn holds.