AFC opposes delay in presidential voting

The Asian Football Confederation, a key ally of FIFA president Sepp Blatter with its own recent history of corruption allegations, insisted on Thursday that the FIFA Congress and presidential election should go ahead as planned.

Despite the arrest of seven senior FIFA officials on corruption charges, the powerful AFC - whose disgraced former president Mohamed bin Hammam was in 2012 banned from soccer for life in the wake of a "cash for votes" scandal - reiterated its support for Blatter in Friday's FIFA presidential election in a statement posted on its website.

AFC members hold 47 of the 209 votes in the FIFA election, third only behind Africa's CAF (56 votes) and Europe's UEFA (54).