Infantino confident of African support

FIFA presidential candidate Gianni Infantino is confident he will secure votes from the majority of African nations at the FIFA presidential election on Friday.

Infantino made a short-notice visit to South Africa at the invitation of presidential rival Tokyo Sexwale, where the two met at Robben Island, the prison where Sexwale was incarcerated due to his opposition to apartheid.

Robben Island is also where Nelson Mandela was jailed.

But despite the Confederation of African Football (CAF) executive committee’s formal endorsement of Infantino’s main rival for the presidency, Sheikh Salman of Bahrain, the UEFA general secretary said he was sure he could count on African nations for their support.

“I will make an impact [in Africa]. I will have a majority of the African votes,” Infantino said during his visit.

Africa is FIFA’s largest confederation in terms of voting countries and the Swiss football administrator said his confidence came from a number of private visits he had made.

“In the discussions I’ve had with many African [federation] presidents, I can say I feel very confident,” Infantino said.