Gianni Infantino, the FIFA president, disregarded a request from one of his FIFA vice presidents to skip an Under-14 soccer event in the Caribbean. Instead, he made a rare public appearance during the global controversy surrounding his failed proposal to sell future World Cup profits to private investors. Infantino shared photos on his Instagram account on Saturday, showcasing his meetings with political and soccer officials from the Dominican Republic at a Caribbean Football Union (CFU) youth tournament in the Punta Cana resort.
Victor Montagliani, the Canadian president of CONCACAF, had advised Infantino not to attend to avoid diverting attention from the soccer games. Montagliani expressed concerns in an email, mentioning the governance crisis at FIFA due to the controversial FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal. He feared that media focus on the situation would detract significantly from the technical aspects of the CFU youth competition.
FIFA chose not to comment on Montagliani’s request but highlighted its direct funding of regional bodies like the CFU with up to $5 million US per four-year World Cup cycle. Montagliani, along with other FIFA vice presidents, including Aleksander Ceferin from UEFA and AFC president Sheik Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, have been advocating to end Infantino’s presidency. They accused Infantino of deception for planning to transfer FIFA’s commercial activities to external investors without transparency.
Infantino abandoned the controversial project on August 1 following backlash from soccer leaders and fans globally. The Zurich-based COO, Kevin Lamour, who criticized the proposal and Infantino’s leadership style, was dismissed later that week. Caribbean member federations are viewed as potential allies for Infantino to sway from their CONCACAF affiliation.
Infantino has refrained from public questioning since the exposure of the $20 billion FFE project on July 28. At the recent event in Punta Cana, he avoided inquiries from a Sky News reporter, James Matthews, regarding his alleged betrayal of the sport and resignation. Infantino has set his sights on securing a fourth and final term as FIFA president until 2031. The FIFA election congress in Rabat, Morocco, scheduled for next March, will be the platform for his potential re-election, with a candidacy deadline of November 18.
