Gianni Infantino’s bid for a fourth term as FIFA president has received a major boost after the head of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, pledged support for his re-election.

Sheikh Salman announced the endorsement at the AFC Congress in Tokyo, Japan, attended by Infantino, reversing his position two months after joining the heads of UEFA and Concacaf in criticising the FIFA president over a failed plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors.

“We reaffirm our full commitment, of course, to supporting you as you seek a new mandate as president,” Sheikh Salman told the gathering.

He said the time had come for football leaders to put their differences aside and move forward.

“I’ve spoken to a lot of members within this continent. I know your feeling and I think your commitment is clear as well. Your support to Gianni is very clear,” he said.

“Yes, we had some issues, we spoke about them in the past, but let’s not relate the two things together.

“As one Asian family, we are ready to move forward, united in your support, Gianni.”

Sheikh Salman’s endorsement comes after he signed a joint letter with UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin and Concacaf president Victor Montagliani criticising Infantino over the proposed FIFA Forward Enterprise scheme.

The three confederations accused Infantino of undermining trust “through deception” and described the proposal as “a profound failure of judgement”, adding that “these are not the qualities football deserves in its leadership.”

The latest endorsement could strengthen Infantino’s position ahead of the FIFA presidential election scheduled for March in Rabat, Morocco, particularly given his support base in Africa and South America.

At the election, UEFA will have 55 votes, Africa 54, Asia 46, Concacaf 35, Oceania 11 and South America’s CONMEBOL 10.

The deadline for candidates to declare their intention to challenge Infantino is November 18. However, no candidate has formally entered the race, raising the possibility that the incumbent could stand unopposed.

Potential challengers, including Montagliani and Ceferin, have indicated that they are not candidates for the presidency.

Infantino, who praised Sheikh Salman’s leadership of Asian football, said FIFA would continue to support the confederation.

“You’ve been doing a fantastic job in AFC in the last 13 years, my dear Salman,” he told delegates.

“You will do fantastically as well for the next how many years you want. And always, always with my full support, with the partnership of FIFA, because we have seen what we have been doing in the last years.”

Asked about the AFC’s endorsement, Infantino said: “I feel great about the AFC’s support.”

The support came after Infantino apologised at a FIFA Council meeting last week over the proposed World Cup investment plan, although he did not provide a full explanation of how the proposal was developed.

He also proposed increasing funding for football development worldwide by $3.4bn (£2.6bn).

UEFA has subsequently demanded that FIFA release key documents and answer questions about its governance and decision-making by November 2.