Senior figures within African football have engaged in discussions with Mattias Grafström, Fifa's general secretary, to ascertain his interest in running against Gianni Infantino for the Fifa presidency. Infantino is expected to seek re-election next year.
Despite the Confederation of Africa Football (Caf) stating its executive committee had "unanimously reconfirmed" support for Infantino, up to 15 African federations are said to be ready to oppose his re-election.
Grafström, 45, initially distanced himself from Infantino's Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) plan. However, he later signed a letter of "full support" for Infantino.
Two presidents of African federations reportedly spoke to Grafström separately last week. He is said to have been surprised by the approach and remained non-committal at this stage.
Discontent is understood to be growing in several African countries following the decision to hold the Africa Cup of Nations every four years instead of two, a change many believe was imposed by Fifa.