Powerful support from the East. Asian football chief backs Infantino

Asian Football Confederation president Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa has officially endorsed Gianni Infantino's bid for re-election as FIFA president, despite previous accusations of a breach of trust.

Details: Addressing the Swiss official during the AFC Extraordinary Congress in Tokyo, the confederation chief guaranteed the maximum consolidation of Asian votes.

“I believe that we are once again confirming our full commitment to supporting you and your leadership at a time when you are seeking a new mandate as FIFA president. I want to make it clear: yes, we have had some issues that we discussed in the past, but let us not link these two things together,” Sheikh Salman stressed.

The head of the Asian confederation noted that recent talks in Zurich had cleared up any misunderstandings between the organizations.

“You made it clear that a genuine and clear understanding has been reached between us. We need to move forward. And we believe that football is strongest when we work together, guided by a shared vision and a common goal. As one Asian family, we are ready to move forward, united in our support for you, Gianni,” the official concluded.

It is worth noting that Gianni Infantino has headed world football's governing body since February 2016, when Sheikh Salman was his main rival in the race for the presidency. The AFC's public recognition of the Swiss official's authority deals a crushing blow to the ambitions of European opposition groups that had sought to challenge the incumbent FIFA chief's extension for another term.

Reminder: Major retraction in the British press. The Times apologizes to FIFA president