According to The Athletic, FIFA Vice President and AFC President Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa wrote to Gianni Infantino on October 6, seemingly softening his previous demand for Infantino's resignation. Instead, Salman proposed establishing an internal working group to study how to improve FIFA's existing governance mechanisms.

Salman had previously strongly criticized Infantino and called for the FIFA President's resignation following the failure of his FFE plan. However, a letter obtained by The Athletic shows that Salman's position has shifted. In the letter sent to Infantino on Tuesday, he suggested that all parties should "constructively explore whether FIFA's existing governance mechanisms can be strengthened." The letter was also copied to other continental confederation presidents, including Aleksander Čeferin and Victor Montagliani.

In the letter, Salman stated he does not favor "a complete overhaul of FIFA's governance system" and proposed forming a working group to review existing governance bodies rather than involving external organizations. This contrasts with his earlier co-signed letter with UEFA and CONCACAF, which explicitly called for any review to be conducted by "a completely independent third party."

Salman wrote in the letter: "In recent months, there has been considerable discussion and reporting surrounding FIFA's governance, transparency, decision-making processes, and institutional checks and balances."

"We should consider whether the responsibilities of existing bodies are sufficiently clear, whether the distribution of power among various bodies is appropriate, and whether the necessary checks and balances are not only theoretical but also effectively operational in practice."

"The continental confederations and FIFA itself possess extensive relevant experience and expertise. Therefore, I believe this process should be led by football organizations themselves, rather than being entrusted to external bodies."

FIFA and the AFC declined to comment. Salman's proposal comes just over a week before the FIFA Council meeting scheduled for October 15 in Zurich. This will be the first FIFA Council meeting since Infantino's FFE plan became public, which proposed opening 20% equity in FIFA's commercial and event operations to private investors, attracting global scrutiny.

Various stakeholders, including UEFA, subsequently demanded Infantino's resignation, with widespread opposition worldwide. However, positions within the AFC, led by Salman, have remained divided.

The Moroccan Football Federation was among the first to publicly support the FIFA President, while the Jordan Football Association expressed "serious concerns" and accused FIFA of attempting to "coerce" them into backing Infantino's re-election bid.

Infantino has served as FIFA President since 2016 and remains the sole candidate for next year's presidential election.

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