Infantino, general secretary at UEFA since 2009, claims he has had “very positive talks” with some of the continent's member associations on the future of the corruption-plagued organisation, which remains engulfed in arguably the worst crisis in its history.

The majority of the AFC’s associations are expected to be behind their President Shaikh Salman Bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, who remains the front runner to succeed banned chief Sepp Blatter at the Extraordinary Elective Congress in Zurich on February 26.

This comes despite claims that he was complicit in the torture of Bahraini athletes during anti-Government protests in the Gulf nation in 2011.

Both Infantino and Jordanian Football Association President Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein have attacked the Shaikh over the claims, which he strenuously denies.

The Swiss made the comments in a letter to campaign group Human Rights Watch after Shaikh Salman signed an amended version of a human rights pledge put forward by Amnesty International.

He claimed that “it is a simple act to sign a ‘pledge’, yet the real test of a pledge and the character of the person signing it is in their concrete actions, not words”.

Infantino’s criticism came after Prince Ali had launched a scathing attack on his Asian counterpart by accusing him of failing to protect his players, which happened during Shaikh Salman’s tenure as head of the Bahrain Football Association.

His visit to the meeting, where AFC officials were discussing the proposed reforms to FIFA, suggests he was making an attempt at persuading them to get behind his campaign rather that of the Shaikh’s.

A total of 46 votes in the FIFA Presidential election are available in Asia.

“Together we can deliver change, improved governance and a truly democratic FIFA,” the Swiss wrote on Twitter.

“This is the dawn of a new era, we must seize on this opportunity.”

Infantino has also received the backing of another five European member associations, with the English Football Association (FA) the latest to throw their support behind the 45-year-old.

The FA, led by chairman Greg Dyke, who has expressed doubts over the candidacy of Shaikh Salman following the torture claims, made the decision at a board meeting today.

The body backed Prince Ali in last year’s Presidential election, where he lost out to Blatter, who then stepped down just days later in the wake of the arrests of several officials on the morning of the Congress.

The Football Associations in Gibraltar, Lithuania, Latvia and The Netherlands have also pledged their support to Infantino’s campaign.

Frenchman Jérôme Champagne and South African businessman Tokyo Sexwale are the other two candidates in the race for the FIFA Presidency.