Asia's soccer body joined opposition to Gianni Infantino's plan for private investors to buy stakes in the World Cup and said Friday FIFA must urgently review its management style. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Associated Press.
The Asian Football Confederation said it "stands in solidarity" with European body UEFA and North America's CONCACAF which on Thursday respectively threatened a boycott of FIFA competitions and rejected Infantino's offer of $20 million to each member federation.
Infantino's proposed $20 billion commercial subsidiary for FIFA events backed by New York-based investor Joshua Kushner "cannot realistically achieve the necessary broad consensus and unity required to move forward" and must be reconsidered, the AFC said in a statement.
"Accordingly, the AFC calls upon FIFA to undertake an urgent review of its governance and decision-making framework," the 47-nation Asian soccer body said.
Asia Football Confederation President Salman Bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa and FIFA President Gianni Infantino arrived together for an inauguration ceremony for the new building of the Asia Football Confederation in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Oct. 30, 2018.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino spoke during a news conference at the stadium in Mexico City on June 10, 2026, a day before the opening FIFA World Cup match between Mexico and South Africa.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and AP World Cup coverage.