FIFA President Gianni Infantino will visit Japan this week to meet with Asian Football Confederation leaders as part of his re-election campaign. The meeting, scheduled for Wednesday at a five-star hotel in Tokyo, is expected to be largely closed to the media.
Infantino apologised last week to FIFA's ruling council in Zurich for "mistakes" he made regarding a now-scrapped World Cup sell-off plan. The FIFA Council is the organisation's main decision-making body with a global spread of officials.
Asian Football Confederation President Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa had expressed early opposition to Infantino and his plan to create a subsidiary to run the World Cup but may have moved closer to the FIFA leader. The AFC joined criticism of Infantino following the proposed sell-off, but its members appear far from united.
One country has expressed support for the FIFA leader while another has declared its opposition. An Associated Press tally indicates many of the FIFA member federations have shown support for Infantino, putting him close to the simple majority needed. The largest block of opposition comes from Europe.
Political scientist Jules Boykoff said, "FIFA is a massive patronage network." He added, "It brings in billions from the men's World Cup and distributes it to football associations around the world in exchange for loyalty."
Infantino has offered critics an open, independent review of how FIFA makes its decisions. The deadline for candidates to file against him is November 18. FIFA rules state candidates must have "played an active role in association football for two of the last five years."
The Japan national team is in strong recent form from their last four matches. Their next fixture is at home to Brazil on November 14. The next scheduled FIFA Council meeting is on December 16 in Doha, Qatar.
Background and full detail: Sportsnet Soccer
