Japan football association official resigns after AFC aligns with Infantino

The vice president of Japan’s football association has quit, saying the “series of responses” to controversies surrounding the World Cup did not align with his personal values. Takeshi Okada, who coached Japan at the World Cup in 1998 and again in 2010, stepped down a week after the head of Asian football said the region supported Gianni Infantino’s bid for re-election as FIFA president. Asian Football Confederation (AFC) president Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim al-Khalifa delivered the unequivocal backing at a meeting in Tokyo. It came weeks after the AFC had joined football bodies in Europe and North America in condemning Infantino over his plan to open FIFA’s premium competitions such as the World Cup to private investors.