Leading European clubs are supporting UEFA secretary general Gianni Infantino in his bid to become president of football governing body FIFA, Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said Tuesday.
"We haven't got a vote but in the spirit of football we are supporting Gianni Infantino," Rummenigge, chairman of the European Club Association ECA, told dpa.
Rummenigge, speaking on the fringe of an ECA general assembly in Paris, said the clubs had always been able to worked "in a position of trust" with Infantino.
Infantino is one of five candidates standing in the election on February 26 in Zurich to succeed banned outgoing president Joseph Blatter.
Asian Football Confederation president Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa of Bahrain, former FIFA vice president Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein of Jordan, former FIFA official Jerome Champagne of France, and South African businessman Tokyo Sexwale are the other candidates.
On Monday, the federations of Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Liechtenstein, Poland and Slovakia said they would all vote for Infantino.
European body UEFA's executive committee has unanimously endorsed Infantino but it is not clear if all 53 UEFA members will also give him their backing. He would need a majority of the 105 votes from the 209 FIFA member federations.
The African confederation CAF has endorsed Sheikh Salman, but it appears that not all African federations will follow the recommendation.
Liberian federation president Musa Bility was reported as saying Monday at least 26 nations will vote independently. Liberia is to support Prince Ali, while South Sudan has pledged to vote for Infantino.
