Gianni Infantino disregarded a request from one of his FIFA vice presidents to refrain from attending an Under-14 soccer event in the Caribbean. Instead, he made a rare public appearance amidst the global controversy surrounding his failed proposal to sell future World Cup profits to private investors.
Over the weekend, Infantino shared photos on his Instagram account depicting his meeting with political and soccer officials from the Dominican Republic at a Caribbean Football Union (CFU) youth tournament held at the Punta Cana resort.
The Canadian president of the Miami-based soccer body CONCACAF, Victor Montagliani, had advised Infantino not to attend the event to prevent drawing attention away from the soccer matches. Montagliani expressed concerns in an email, stating that the media would likely focus on the FIFA governance crisis triggered by Infantino’s contentious FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal, diverting attention from the CFU youth competition’s technical aspects.
FIFA chose not to comment on Montagliani’s plea but highlighted its direct financial support to regional bodies like the CFU, providing up to $5 million US per four-year World Cup cycle.
Montagliani, alongside FIFA vice presidents Aleksander Ceferin from UEFA and AFC president Sheik Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, has joined forces to advocate for the removal of Infantino from his long-standing presidency. They accused Infantino of deceit for covertly planning to transfer FIFA’s lucrative commercial activities to a subsidiary partly owned by investors, led by Joshua Kushner.
Infantino scrapped the controversial project on August 1 following widespread backlash from soccer authorities and fans worldwide. His Chief Operating Officer, Kevin Lamour, who criticized the proposal and Infantino’s leadership style in a public statement to the AP, was dismissed shortly after.
Caribbean member federations are considered potential allies for Infantino to sway from their CONCACAF affiliations. Meanwhile, CONMEBOL, the South American soccer entity, has thrown its support behind Infantino as the preferred route to securing an expanded 64-team 2030 World Cup.
Infantino has avoided taking questions from the media since the unveiling of the $20 billion FFE initiative on July 28. At the recent event in Punta Cana, he sidestepped inquiries from a Sky News reporter, James Matthews, by humorously deflecting questions about his alleged betrayal of the sport and resignation calls.
The FIFA president is vying for re-election for a final term until 2031 at the upcoming FIFA election congress in Rabat, Morocco, with the candidacy deadline set for November 18.