Overview
- The Asian Football Confederation publicly pledged “unrestricted support” for FIFA president Gianni Infantino at an extraordinary congress in Tokyo on Friday, Oct. 23, a move that substantially increases his chances ahead of the March 2027 Congress in Rabat.
- UEFA has sent Infantino a 42‑question dossier probing the failed investor plan to market World Cup rights and possible conflicts of interest involving the family of President Donald Trump, and it has set a Nov. 2 deadline for answers.
- Many regional bodies already back Infantino — including 22 Arab associations, Africa’s CAF and much of South America and Oceania — leaving European and CONCACAF opponents dependent on uniting behind a single challenger to have a realistic path to victory.
- The opposition has until Nov. 18 to nominate a candidate, but so far UEFA and allied federations have not agreed on a name, with public suggestions like Karl‑Heinz Rummenigge discussed but no formal bid announced.
- Because each of FIFA’s 211 member associations has one equal vote, the AFC reversal reshapes the arithmetic of the election and raises two key next steps to watch: whether Infantino’s responses to UEFA’s questions satisfy European critics and whether the opposition can coalesce before the nomination deadline.