South American Football Confederation Supports Gianni Infantino in FIFA Election

South America is behind FIFA presidential aspirant Gianni Infantino.

The South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) has expressed its support to the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) general secretary on his bid to become the president of the football governing body.

An Associated Press report published by Fox Sports said that CONMEBOL released a statement after its 20-nation body agreed to give their support to Infantino for the polls this coming Feb. 26.

"The CONMEBOL executive committee has decided to back Gianni Infantino's candidacy and plan of action for the presidency of FIFA," read the confederation's statement.

It added that that they have unanimously approved to vote a block for the Swiss-Italian.

SkySports noted that the rounds of the UEFA general secretary in about 50 countries for the past three months has been a good thing for him and his campaign.

He previously got the backing of the Central American Football Union (UNCAF), who promised to give him seven votes.

 "I am honoured to have the unanimous support of my colleagues at CONMEBOL and I'd like to thank them, along with colleagues from UNCAF, UEFA and the many other Football Associations that have declared their support for my candidacy and my vision to take FIFA and football forward," Infantino said.

His promise, if elected in office, is transparency and the increase in the World Cup teams to about 40.

In explaining the process of the election, SkySports said a secret ballot will be done during the FIFA Congress in Zurich on February 26. This is where the 209 member nations of FIFA will cast their vote for the presidential candidate they want.

To be able to win the first round, a candidate should have two thirds of the votes during the polls.

Meanwhile, Eurosport said that Infantino's greatest rival and challenger is Asian Football Confederation (AFC) president Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa from Bahrain.

Other candidates for the presidency include ex-FIFA deputy general secretary Jerome Champagne, Jordan's Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein and South African businessman and politician Tokyo Sexwale.

Bloomberg noted that Infantino was not even supposed to be part of the polls, since he only entered the race after football director Michael Platini was suspended due to the illegal payments he allegedly received from Sepp Blatter.

Despite this entrance, the same report noted that he has since proven that he is a reasonable candidate, since he considers the job a "huge responsibility," which he will seriously work on.