Gianni Infantino disregarded a suggestion from one of his FIFA vice presidents to abstain from attending an Under-14 soccer tournament in the Caribbean, opting instead to make a rare public appearance amidst widespread criticism of his unsuccessful initiative to sell future World Cup earnings to private investors.
On Saturday, Infantino shared images on his Instagram, depicting his meetings with political and soccer leaders from the Dominican Republic during the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) youth tournament held at the Punta Cana resort.
Prior to this, on Friday, Victor Montagliani, the Canadian president of CONCACAF, which is based in Miami, had requested Infantino to avoid the event to prevent becoming a distraction during the matches.
In an email seen by The Associated Press, Montagliani expressed concern, stating, “Given the governance crisis surrounding FIFA due to your controversial FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal, the media will likely concentrate on this issue,” adding that this would detract significantly from the technical focus of the CFU youth competition.
Montagliani further urged Infantino to reconsider his participation, emphasizing that it could undermine the essential technical nature of this vital youth development initiative.
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FIFA opted not to respond to Montagliani’s request but highlighted its financial support to regional organizations like the CFU, contributing up to $5 million US from each World Cup cycle every four years.
Montagliani has joined forces with fellow FIFA vice presidents Aleksander Ceferin from UEFA and Sheik Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa from the Asian Football Confederation in a bid to challenge Infantino’s increasingly authoritative presidency, which is now in its 11th year.
Two weeks ago, they accused Infantino of “deception,” claiming he had been secretly planning for over a year to transfer FIFA’s billion-dollar commercial operations to a subsidiary partly owned by investors led by Joshua Kushner.
Avneet Dhillon breaks down the open letter to FIFA from several soccer federations accusing President Gianni Infantino of deception over his proposal to sell a portion of the World Cup to private investors.
(Photo credits: The Canadian Press, Reuters, Adobe Stock and Getty Images)
Infantino abandoned the initiative on August 1 following a worldwide outcry from soccer leaders and fans. This decision came just hours after his chief operating officer criticized the proposal and Infantino’s leadership approach in a statement to the AP. Kevin Lamour, the Zurich-based COO, was dismissed earlier this week.
Federations from the Caribbean appear to be potential allies for Infantino, possibly distancing themselves from CONCACAF leadership. The South American football organization CONMEBOL has expressed support for Infantino, viewing him as the best option for securing more matches at the expanded 2030 World Cup, which they hope to increase from 48 to 64 teams.
Avoiding questions from a bald reporter
The FIFA president has refrained from addressing the public since the $20 billion FFE initiative was disclosed by The Times on July 28. While in Punta Cana on Friday, he sidestepped inquiries from a Sky News reporter.
When Sky reporter James Matthews questioned him about whether he had betrayed the sport and should resign, Infantino responded with “Thank you so much,” making light-hearted remarks about their shared baldness.
Infantino is positioning himself for re-election for a fourth and final term, aiming to serve until 2031 during the FIFA election congress scheduled for next March in Rabat, Morocco. FIFA has set November 18 as the cutoff date for prospective candidates to enter the contest.