Unless Uefa can find a way to unseat Infantino, he has seven months to cement his supporter base.
One way Infantino has always done this is by jetting off around the world and meeting people.
When he was elected in 2016, Infantino declared that Uefa gave him a budget of €500,000 (£430,000), external “to fund flights – mainly flights – around the world” to lobby member associations for votes.
Following Wednesday’s meeting of the Fifa management board in Rabat, Infantino jetted off to South America for the inauguration of new Colombian president Abelardo de la Espriella.
Another key tool will be the funding of the 211 member associations, which has enabled Infantino to build loyalty around the world.
This is especially true among developing nations who cannot afford to pay for football development.
Crucially, the latest iteration of Infantino’s investment programme, Fifa Forward 3.0, ends in December. It has given all national associations up to $8m (£5.94m) in the latest four-year cycle, a 30% increase on the last one.
When announced, Fifa Forward 4.0 may well up the level of funding again.
For this reason, outside of Europe, Infantino still has a great deal of support and would be the favourite to win an election.
Uefa (55 members)
Infantino’s staunchest critics, though a few could break the block vote against him.
Africa (54)
The African confederation has reaffirmed its unanimous support for Infantino.
Asia (46)
While the Asian confederation joined Uefa in criticising FFE it did not issue any statement after the plan was aborted. So far, only Jordan – who did not support Infantino anyway – has said it will not vote for him.
Concacaf (35)
Has strongly criticised Infantino, but Mexico has already broken away to back the president. With so many small nations in the region which benefit from Infantino’s funding, it is unknown how much of the rest of the block will hold.
Oceania (11)
The OFC will not offer a statement until it holds a meeting next month, but earlier this year president Lambert Maltock called Infantino a “leader par excellence” and lauded his investment in grassroots.
South America (10)
A statement issued on Thursday amounted to “do it again and we won’t vote for you”, but Infantino can still count on Conmebol. Argentina and Paraguay are among the countries to publicly back his re-election.
