Asian football body welcomes FIFA backdown, calls for transparency

Kuala Lumpur: The Asian Football Confederation said on Saturday it welcomed the scrapping of FIFA's proposal to allow private investment in the World Cup.

AFC President Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa "welcomed the withdrawal of the proposed FIFA Forward Enterprise," the Kuala Lumpur-based body said in a statement.

Any initiative that may impact global football should be "presented and discussed with the Confederations, the FIFA Council, Member Associations (MAs) and other stakeholders in a timely, transparent and meaningful manner," said the AFC, which represents 47 member nations, including Australia, China, Japan and Saudi Arabia.