FIFA president Gianni Infantino dangled the carrot of more World Cup spots for Asia during a visit to Seoul yesterday.

Infantino, who arrived in South Korea earlier in the day to meet with sponsors Hyundai Motor Group, said his visit was aimed at rebuilding trust with corporate partners and presenting his vision of a ‘new FIFA’.

World football’s scandal-hit governing body is in the midst of the worst crisis in its 112-year history, with more than 40 individuals and entities, including many former FIFA officials, charged with corruption-related offences in the United States.

Infantino, elected in February to replace the disgraced Sepp Blatter, said adding eight more teams to the World Cup from 2026 was “perfectly justified”.

“Football is not only Europe and South America. Football is the world,” he said.

“I’m not a dictator at FIFA so I can’t impose anything but I believe we have to increase the number of teams.”

Asia currently has four automatic spots at the World Cup, with a fifth up for grabs in an inter-confederation play-off, and Infantino said that number could rise to at least six under a new format.

FIFA has struggled to find new sponsors since the current crisis erupted and Asia’s financial muscle could see the region play a bigger role.

Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp., South Korea’s two largest automakers and affiliates of the Hyundai conglomerate, have extended their partnership with FIFA until 2022.

China has also shown its ambition on the global football stage with Dalian Wanda Group, the country’s biggest property developer, becoming the first Chinese top level sponsor of FIFA last month.