Infantino hails re-election of Asian football president
kuala lumpur — Fifa president Gianni Infantino on Saturday hailed the re-election of Asian football chief Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, saying it will help the region move forward in stability.
Infantino also reiterated that negotiations were ongoing with Qatar to increase the number of World Cup teams from 32 to 48 in the 2022 tournament.
Bahrain’s Sheikh Salman returned unopposed in the Asian Football Confederation’s presidential election Saturday after Mohammed Khalfan Al Romaithi of the United Arab Emirates and Saoud Al Mohannadi of Qatar withdrew last month. Sheikh Salman was elected AFC president in 2013 after Mohammed bin Hammam of Qatar was banned for life for corruption by world governing body Fifa. He was elected to his first four-year term in 2015.
Sheikh Salman cemented his position by signing a new commercial rights deal in 2018, expanding tournaments and increasing the money going back to member federations.
Infantino told the AFC Congress that the no-contest was “important to show a united football family in Asia and to move forward in stability.” Sheikh Salman was absent to attend his mother’s funeral. Infantino led delegates to observe a few minutes of silence to mourn with Sheikh Salman and show that “we are with him.”
Infantino, who defeated Sheikh Salman at the 2016 Fifa presidential election and is standing unopposed for another term in the Fifa polls in June, thanked the AFC for its support and stressed his commitment to expand football in the region. —