FIFA president Gianni Infantino says he has the backing of the “very, very large majority” of football nations as he seeks a new term in office.
The Italian-Swiss official is expected to stand for a fourth term in the election scheduled for March and appears confident he has enough support to win.
Infantino has faced calls to resign since outlining plans to create an external company to manage FIFA’s commercial activities and tournaments, with private investors involved.
UEFA and CONCACAF have been at the forefront of those demands, but Infantino has resisted the pressure to step down.
“I was elected by 211 associations from around the world,” he told BBC Sport on Saturday.
“I think it is important that in an organisation like FIFA there can be different opinions and different points of view,” he said.
“But if we take democracy seriously, the democratic process, if we believe that everyone has the same vote and the same voice everywhere in the world, that football belongs to everyone, if we take all that seriously, then we must also respect the opinions of the very, very large majority,” Infantino added.
He said he had recently returned from Tokyo, where he had received the full backing of the Asian confederation.
He also said that all countries in the African confederation had supported him during a visit to Cape Verde.
“I am speaking to all the associations, everywhere in the world,” Infantino said.
