UEFA Members Gather to Hear FIFA Candidate Gianni Infantino

FIFA presidential candidate Gianni Infantino will share his manifesto with UEFA member federations on Friday. (Shaikh Salman and Gianni Infantino Blow Open FIFA Presidency Race)

UEFA summoned the leaders of its 54 national bodies to discuss the five-candidate FIFA election to succeed Sepp Blatter on February 26. Officials arriving at Geneva airport said UEFA sent no agenda for the meeting at its headquarters in nearby Nyon.

Infantino's expected support from the UEFA members he has served as general secretary since 2009 is unlikely to be unanimous. Malta has said it will vote for Prince Ali of Jordan, who got votes from across Europe when he lost to Blatter 133-73 in May.

English Football Association chairman Greg Dyke told The Associated Press its vote, which went to Prince Ali last year, has not yet been decided.

"I don't think it's for UEFA to say, 'We support Gianni,'" Dyke said ahead of the meeting. "It's for individual associations and we won't make a decision for at least another week."

The other candidates are Asian Football Confederation president Sheikh Salman of Bahrain, former FIFA official Jerome Champagne and South African businessman Tokyo Sexwale.

Infantino entered the race last October after his boss, UEFA President Michel Platini, was suspended from all duty by the FIFA ethics committee. Platini was later banned for eight years over a $2 million payment from FIFA in 2011 for uncontracted salary as an adviser to Blatter, who was also banned.

Platini's candidacy had been supported by Sheikh Salman, and speculation has focused on a potential deal for Infantino to be the influential FIFA secretary general with the Bahraini royal as president.

Some UEFA members told the AP on Friday they did not expect Friday's meeting to resolve questions about possible election deals.

Infantino's manifesto, published Tuesday, proposed more World Cup places, more World Cup hosting opportunities and more FIFA development funds for its 209 members.

The Swiss official has said that an expanded 40-team World Cup could be co-hosted from 2026 onwards across regions.