FIFA: Platini candidature gets strong backing

Four out of six continental soccer confederations would back UEFA president Michel Platini if he stands for FIFA president, a source close to European soccer's governing body said on Monday.

Frenchman Platini, who was re-elected as UEFA president earlier this year, is likely to decide within the next 10 days or so whether to run, the source added.

Platini, who is still undecided whether to run, held meetings late into Sunday night at a luxury lakeside hotel in Zurich where he was repeatedly promised support, the source said.

FIFA's executive committee was meeting on Monday to discuss reform plans and set a date for a vote to replace outgoing president Sepp Blatter, amid charges against FIFA officials of corruption by the U.S. Department of Justice and Swiss authorities.

Blatter was re-elected for a fifth term at the congress in May but then announced on June 2 that he would lay down his mandate. He has not been accused personally of any wrongdoing.