European football leaders are meeting as time runs short to find a candidate and shape a strategy to challenge Gianni Infantino's position as FIFA president.
UEFA has summoned its 55 member federations to a summit expected to take place in Berlin, as Europe's effort to find new leadership for world football's governing body gathers pace.
Infantino's controversial private investment plan for the World Cup — which collapsed just days after it was announced in July — has pushed UEFA to act on long-standing distrust of its former employee, who is increasingly expanding his executive power at FIFA.
UEFA's long-term plans include preparing a criminal complaint against Infantino in Switzerland alleging possible financial mismanagement in the World Cup share sale, and the governing body has also asked courts in the United States to allow evidence to be gathered for a criminal case.
"At some point, things with FIFA went too far, and we are looking to put everything back in its proper place," UEFA general secretary Theodore Theodoridis said last month.
The 55 European federations make up more than a quarter of FIFA's 211 member associations eligible to vote in the March 18 election in Rabat, Morocco. AP research shows Infantino has about 90 pledged votes — though it is not yet known which potential rival will enter the race.
UEFA, however, is not a unified bloc. Infantino has received pledged support from Azerbaijan — home country of a close aide — and Latvia. On Wednesday he met football and government officials in the Czech capital, Prague.
First, UEFA and its allies worldwide need to agree on at least one candidate to challenge Infantino before the November 18 deadline to register for the race.
Which football leaders are seen as potential candidates?
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin joined FIFA vice presidents from Asia and North America in August in condemning Infantino over deceptive conduct and a breach of trust in the World Cup share sale plan.
Yet neither Ceferin nor his counterparts at the AFC and CONCACAF — Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa of Bahrain and Victor Montagliani of Canada — have so far shown signs of entering the FIFA ballot.
Ceferin has long dismissed speculation about running for FIFA leadership himself, though last month at UEFA meetings in Greece he said there were "lots and lots" of potential candidates.
Montagliani is expected to focus on re-election at CONCACAF in February.
Sheikh Salman was previously an opponent of Infantino in a FIFA election. He was once seen as a strong candidate in the five-man race that Infantino ultimately won in February 2016.
Speculation has often pointed to Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi, a close ally of Ceferin. The Qatari member of UEFA's executive committee ruled himself out of the race last week at a meeting of the influential European Football Clubs group he leads.
Infantino is a central part of UEFA's agenda in Berlin at the regular two-year business meeting of senior leaders from member federations, where policy, strategy and international football competitions may be discussed.
The meeting is expected to discuss proposals for a more transparent FIFA and a presidential candidate willing to commit to those reforms.
