Victor Montaliani, cited as one of Gianni Infantino's main potential rivals for the FIFA presidency, will most likely not run at the electoral congress on March 18. According to ESPN, the Canadian prefers to seek a new term at the head of CONCACAF.
Montaliani leads the confederation of North and Central America and the Caribbean, which unites 35 national federations.
In recent months, his name has been increasingly mentioned as a possible figure who could unite part of the opposition against Infantino.
However, in early October, there were reports that the Canadian was seriously hesitating whether to enter a direct battle for the position.
Now, these hesitations seem to have led to a decision not to run.
Montaliani's refusal would be a serious plus for the current FIFA president. Infantino is actively seeking support among national federations, while his opponents have not yet managed to unite around a strong common candidacy.
Thus, the option of the current president receiving another four-year term looks increasingly realistic.
Among the names being discussed is the president of the Asian Football Confederation, Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, who already faced off against Infantino in the 2016 elections.
The idea is for him to attract a significant part of the Asian vote, possibly receiving support from Europe, CONCACAF and parts of Africa and Oceania.
However, this scenario is also meeting resistance within the Asian confederation itself and remains uncertain for now.
So far, the only one who has publicly announced his intention to run against Infantino is former Swiss international Ramon Vega.
However, he is not seen as a real threat to the current president.
The FIFA electoral congress will be held on March 18 in Rabat, Morocco, and until then the main question will be whether a candidate capable of uniting the opposition against Infantino will emerge.