July 31 (Reuters) - North ⁠American football chief Victor Montagliani is "making moves" towards ⁠challenging Gianni Infantino for the FIFA presidency in ‌next March's election, The i Paper reported on Friday, citing sources.

The report comes amid growing scrutiny of Infantino, who is facing the ​first significant challenge to his leadership ⁠after FIFA's proposal to ⁠sell a stake in the World Cup drew widespread opposition ⁠from ‌major regional confederations.

Infantino said in April he would seek a fourth term as FIFA president, ⁠with the election for the 2027-2031 cycle ​scheduled to take ‌place in Morocco on March 18 next year.

The ⁠Swiss-Italian executive ​had enjoyed strong backing from national federations until this week when plans to create a $20-billion subsidiary linked to football's ⁠flagship tournament triggered a shift in ​sentiment among some stakeholders.

Reuters has contacted CONCACAF for comment.

At a meeting on Thursday, CONCACAF's 41 member associations rejected FIFA's ⁠proposal but stopped short of backing UEFA's call for a boycott, while the Mexican Football Federation (FMF) said it would review the plan before deciding its position.

The North ​American, Central American and Caribbean confederation ⁠said members had expressed "deep concerns" over the lack of ​due process, a compressed timeline and ‌the absence of review or ​approval by FIFA's relevant governance bodies.

(Reporting by Karan Prashant Saxena in Bengaluru; editing by Clare Fallon)