The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) will continue to back Sepp Blatter's bid for re-election to the FIFA presidency, as the leader of world football's governing body pulled out of a planned appearance at the FIFA Medical Conference.

FIFA is in crisis after the arrest of seven currently serving officials at a hotel in Zurich on corruption charges dating back 24 years, who are set to be extradited to the U.S. to face charges.

Swiss authorities have begun a separate, criminal investigation into the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar respectively.