UEFA on track to find credible challenger to Infantino, vice-president says

MADRID, Sept 16 : UEFA remains on course to find a credible challenger to FIFA President Gianni Infantino and has not allowed its campaign for change to dissolve into wishful thinking, vice-president Laura McAllister said on Wednesday.

McAllister said the candidate for next March's election need not be European but must be capable of defeating Infantino, uniting football's confederations and delivering lasting governance reform.

Speaking to Reuters at the World Football Summit in Madrid after UEFA's Executive Committee met in Thessaloniki, she rejected suggestions that opposition to Infantino had lost momentum despite the FIFA president appearing to retain enough support to win another term.

UEFA's efforts were not about installing a European figurehead to lead a rebellion, she said, but building support for a candidate with a clear reform programme.

"I don't think so," McAllister said when asked whether Infantino's opponents had overestimated the damage to his authority.

"We always knew that things wouldn't just change overnight. That would be naive. We knew that there would be a resistance to change as well, of course.

"We're taking things step by step, both legally in terms of the political context with an alternative candidate and in terms of the programme of governance reforms that we need to see."

UEFA 'UNITED AND VERY CONCERTED'

Swiss Italian Infantino, 56, faced the biggest challenge to his presidency following the collapse of his proposal to sell a stake of up to 20 per cent in FIFA competitions, including the World Cup, to private investors.

The plan prompted fierce opposition, with UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation and CONCACAF among those calling for change at the top of FIFA. Several European national