African soccer confederation backing Infantino's re-election bid

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) said Thursday it is backing FIFA President Gianni Infantino's bid for a fourth term as head of football's global governing body.

In a brief statement following a meeting ahead of the FIFA Congress in Vancouver, CAF said it had "unanimously agreed" to support Infantino when the FIFA chief stands for re-election in 2027.

Infantino took over as head of FIFA in 2016 in the wake of the corruption scandal that led to the downfall of predecessor Sepp Blatter.

He was subsequently re-elected to the post in 2019 and 2023.

Although FIFA statues limit FIFA presidents to three terms in office, Infantino is allowed to run for re-election next year after the body ruled that his first, partial term from 2016-2019 following Blatter's ouster did not count towards the total.

CAF's decision to support Infantino comes after South American football's governing body CONMEBOL also pledged to support the Swiss-Italian official earlier in April.