Of course, it is far, far too early to predict the outcome of the Extraordinary Elective Congress at FIFA HQ on February 26. But while the Swiss’ rivals are fending off unwelcome accusations and firing insults at one another, the Infatino bandwagon is gaining pace and momentum. It is fair to say his campaign is in full swing.

As UEFA President Michel Platini, perhaps Infantino’s closest ally in the game, watches from afar, banished to the footballing doldrums following his eight-year ban from the sport for a series of ethics breaches, the general secretary of European football’s governing body is receiving backing from a different Federation on a daily basis. The Frenchman will know that, had he not seemingly indulged in the corrupt behaviour which has poisoned FIFA in recent times, this could have been him.

Infantino was seen by many as merely making up the numbers when he declared his candidacy on October 26 last year, the day of the deadline. The view that he would purely be a mouthpiece for his fallen comrade was prominent in the early stages but, thus far, he has emerged from Platini’s shadow and now appears to be a real challenger.

The latest boost to the Infantino bid came from the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL), which remains deeply entwined with the investigation surrounding widespread corruption within FIFA. The credibility of that particular organisation may be at an all-time low but the numbers speak for themselves.

It is important that we aren't swayed by the daily stream of news of more support for the 49-year-old emanating from his camp, yet his campaign team are making more noise than many of his counterparts - and for the right reasons. These federations could still renege on their initial backing but the silence coming from the majority of the others is deafening.

Such is the nature of FIFA’s internal politics and election system that even those seemingly shy candidates - South African businessman Tokyo Sexwale has been conspicuous by his absence and has even been criticised for his lack of effort to date - could still mount a serious challenge, although that remains a distant and improbable outcome.

In the case of Sexwale, who on Thursday (January 28) appeared to be giving up the ghost when he claimed "the time for alliances had arrived", an increasingly unlikely pledge of support from the Confederation of African Football (CAF) would turn the tables somewhat. The body garners the highest amount of votes in the election, 54, and winning the African vote is often seen as a key battleground.

Triumph in the African battle and you are more likely to win the overall war.

Sexwale isn’t the first to talk about agreements being reached before anyone gets near the Kongresshaus in Zurich next month. In a recent interview with Sky Sports, Bahrain's Asian Football Confederation (AFC) President Shaikh Salman bin Ibrahim al Khalifa refused to rule out the prospect of any deals being made.

Due to a supposed alliance between the AFC and UEFA, Shaikh Salman’s first port of call would surely be Infantino. A deal which would see the Swiss become his number two seems a realistic option – after all, for all his progress, a great deal of Football Associations across the world still only really know Infantino as the guy who conducts the draws for the Champions League and Europa League.

Shaikh Salman's trail thus far has, however, largely centered on him vehemently denying any allegations that he was anyway involved in the torture of athletes in his country following anti-Government protests in 2011. The sporting world in which we live in is unforgiving, however, and mere association to such disturbing claims can prove damaging further down the line.

The fact that Infantino and the Shaikh are yet to truly come to blows could also be significant. Rumours have surfaced this week that the Shaikh Salman camp are unhappy with the funding of €500,000 (£378,000/$541,000) given to the Swiss by UEFA to help with his candidacy but it would be premature to suggest this has completely severed the relationship between the two.

Prince Ali, another one of the fabled five, attempted to embark on a verbal sparring contest with the Bahraini of his own recently after claiming he believes an agreement signed by the AFC and CAF is a "blatant attempt" to secure a bloc vote.

The Jordanian Football Association chief, who lost out to Blatter during last year’s election - one that we will never forget following a series of dawn arrests on the morning of the Congress, prompting the launch of a thorough criminal investigation - came out in fierce opposition of the Memorandum of Understanding penned between the two bodies, who combined offer 100 votes.

“I have always promoted cross-regional understanding, however the timing of this MoU between the AFC and the CAF looks like a blatant attempt to engineer a bloc vote,” he said.

“Africa’s proud football associations are not for sale and development resources belonging to National Football Associations should not be used by Presidential candidates and Confederation Presidents for political expediency.

“Questions must be asked: was this deal approved by the members of the executive committees of both the AFC and CAF and is the timing of the announcement, prior to a Presidential election, acceptable?”

That, added to the public announcement of support from Iraq, represents the biggest development in his campaign since the turn of the year other than to withdraw from the contentious debate on the future of FIFA, which was due to take place earlier this week at the European Parliament in Brussels.

The leading call for such a public debate to be held came from Frenchman Jerome Champagne, who perhaps needed such a vehicle to get his pursuit of the FIFA hotseat back on track following a recent period of dormancy which has seen him languish well behind his other candidates.

Yet even he has hit the headlines over the past seven days after he, very publicly, fell out with French Football Federation President Noël Le Graët when the two were enjoying a spot of dinner at a restaurant in Paris. 

Champagne was clearly expecting his counterpart to offer his support to his waning attempt to succeed Blatter but Le Graët had other ideas, instead telling him that his vote was going the way of Infantino, which wasn't well received as he threatened the FFF chief with an appeal to the "highest political level".

Le Graët duly proceeded to storm out of the restaurant, reportedly yelling a range of expletives at Champagne as he walked through the door. He then emailed the other members of the FFF Executive Committee informing them of the decision to back the UEFA general secretary, and yesterday the federation, along with the Faroe Islands Football Association, officially threw their weight behind the fast-growing Infantino juggernaut.

Such support has been a prominent occurrence for the Swiss in the past week, but his fervent campaigning suggests he knows he has some way to go before he can lay claim to having a realistic shot at taking over the most difficult job in the world of sports politics.

But wouldn't you rather be in his position than many of the others at this moment in time? 

He has other options, too, such as consolidating his position as the number two in the race, behind the Shaikh, to leave himself well-placed for a full-pronged assault on his rival at a later date.

Many would have dismissed the suggestion of Infantino as a leading contender when the candidates were confirmed last year, but recent developments mean we can no longer rule out the possibility of the Swiss having the last laugh on February 26.