UEFA has contributed over $500,000 to Gianni Infantino's FIFA campaign
LONDON (AP) — Gianni Infantino has declared €500,000 ($542,000) in financial backing from UEFA for his FIFA presidential campaign.
Infantino, UEFA's general secretary, disclosed on his campaign website that the funding was approved by the European governing body in October.
Infantino says €500,000 was "set aside ... essentially to cover the cost of my travels around the world and to provide some logistical support" during the campaign.
FIFA's 209 federations vote on Feb. 26. With Michel Platini ineligible, Infantino entered the race on deadline-day in October. The funding wasn't mentioned in that day's UEFA statement.
Infantino is competing against Asian Football Confederation president Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim al Khalifa of Bahrain, ex-FIFA vice president Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan, former FIFA official Jerome Champagne and South African businessman Tokyo Sexwale.
