Prince Ali bin Hussein has accused Gianni Infantino of staging the final day of the AFC’s extraordinary congress in Tokyo to manufacture Asian backing for his re-election as FIFA president.
“The first two days were about football, which we all serve. The last day was pure politics at the behest of Gianni Infantino,” the Jordan FA president wrote on X on Sunday.
He said no delegate was “allowed to speak, question, debate or talk with the media” when the political session began, and warned that “no amount of coercion, threats or bribes should be allowed” in the race for the FIFA presidency.
From ‘breach of trust’ to a public embrace
The attack came two days after Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, the AFC president, embraced Infantino with a large hug at the Tokyo congress and declared that Asia stood behind him.
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“We affirm our full commitment to supporting you and your leadership as you seek a new mandate as the FIFA president,” Sheikh Salman told the FIFA chief, calling Asia “one family” ready to move forward “united in your support, Gianni.”
That is a sharp reversal. In August, the AFC had joined UEFA and CONCACAF in accusing Infantino of a “fundamental breach of trust” over the scrapped FIFA Forward Enterprise, a $4.2bn plan to sell a stake in commercial rights tied to the World Cup to private investors.
At the Tokyo lectern, Infantino drew a line under the row.
“When you do many things, you do, hopefully, as we did, many good things, you do some mistakes as well,” he said.
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Sheikh Salman went further, telling the chamber: “Yes, we had some issues we spoke about in the past. But let’s not relate the two things together.”
‘Confederation presidents have no decision-making power’
The AFC chief’s endorsement, like the earlier backing from CONMEBOL and the Confederation of African Football, carries political weight. It does not deliver votes.
Prince Ali made that point himself, writing that “confederation presidents have no decision-making power: the vote belongs to each individual member association.” FIFA’s presidential election is a one-member, one-vote ballot of all 211 national associations, and governing-body heads can lobby but cannot bind their members. The AFC has 47 of those 211 votes.
Prince Ali’s quarrel with Infantino is not new. In August, he accused the FIFA president of “blackmail”, claiming FIFA had offered to resolve Jordan’s outstanding issues in exchange for his endorsement. Two days later, Jordan received long-delayed Arab Cup prize money it had been waiting for since late 2025.
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Deadline on 18 November, vote in March
The window to challenge Infantino is closing. Candidates must file their nomination by 18 November, and the FIFA Congress will vote in March 2027.
No rival has yet declared, and with CONMEBOL, CAF and now the AFC leadership publicly behind him, Infantino is on course for a fourth term that would keep him in office until 2031.
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