Europe will throw its full support behind Gianni Infantino in February’s FIFA presidential election, according to a member of his campaign team. UEFA is expected to officially announce its backing of Infantino’s candidacy on Friday, following a two-day meeting of its exec committee. "We are expecting full support on that front," a campaign spokesperson said. The news comes after an interview by Luxembourg FA President Paul Philipp in which he said, "You know, among us, he (Infantino) is not the unanimous choice." UEFA’s general secretary is one of five candidates in the race to succeed suspended FIFA President Sepp Blatter. The support of all UEFA member associations would significantly boost Infantino’s chances in the Feb. 26 elections. With 54 nations, UEFA represents about a quarter of FIFA’s 209 member federations. Infantino, who entered the race following the suspension of UEFA President Michel Platini, has already received public support from several European nations, including Germany's DFB, the world’s largest football federation. According to his campaign, Infantino is also the only candidate thus far to have received public support outside his own confederation. The FAs of Barbados and Suriname, both members of CONCACAF, came out in support of Infantino after he attended a meeting of the Caribbean Football Union earlier in the week. A campaign spokesperson told SBD Global they are “very optimistic” Infantino can convince more federations outside of Europe to support his candidacy. “We assume we have enough support to win the election,” he said. While Infantino’s camp appears confident about the upcoming elections, his rivals are fighting for support. Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan, who lost to Blatter in last year’s election, has so far received public support from Iraq. But with Asian Football Confederation President Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa also in the running, Asia will most likely not vote as a unified bloc. Sheikh Salman has claimed to have unanimous support from AFC’s exec committee members. Jérôme Champagne of France and South African businessman Tokyo Sexwale, who are also in the running, have not garnered any formal support. US Soccer has not made a decision on which candidate will receive its vote after backing Prince Ali in May's election.
