Gianni Infantino disregarded a request from one of his FIFA vice presidents to abstain from attending an Under-14 soccer event in the Caribbean and instead chose to appear publicly during the global controversy surrounding his failed attempt to sell future World Cup profits to private investors.
Infantino shared images on his Instagram account on Saturday, revealing his interactions with political and soccer officials from the Dominican Republic at a Caribbean Football Union (CFU) youth tournament held at the Punta Cana resort.
Victor Montagliani, the Canadian president of CONCACAF, requested on Friday that Infantino refrain from attending to prevent diverting attention from the soccer matches. Montagliani expressed concerns in an email, suggesting that the media focus on the FIFA governance crisis resulting from the controversial FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal would overshadow the technical aspects of the CFU youth competition.
FIFA chose not to comment on Montagliani’s request but highlighted its direct financial support to regional bodies like the CFU with up to $5 million US from each four-year World Cup cycle.
Montagliani, along with other FIFA vice presidents Aleksander Ceferin from UEFA and AFC president Sheik Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, have united in calling for an end to Infantino’s presidency, accusing him of deceit in clandestinely planning to transfer FIFA’s lucrative commercial activities to a subsidiary partly owned by investors led by Joshua Kushner.
The proposed initiative was withdrawn by Infantino on August 1 following widespread criticism from soccer officials and fans. The Zurich-based COO, Kevin Lamour, who had sharply criticized the proposal and Infantino’s leadership style, was subsequently dismissed.
Caribbean member federations are being viewed as potential allies for Infantino to sway away from their CONCACAF leadership. CONMEBOL, the South American body, has thrown its support behind Infantino as the preferred route to securing more matches at the 2030 World Cup, which it aims to expand from 48 to 64 teams.
Infantino has refrained from public questioning since the revelation of the $20 billion FFE project on July 28 by The Times. During his visit to Punta Cana, he avoided a bald reporter from Sky News, declining to respond to inquiries about betraying the sport and resignation suggestions.
Infantino is eyeing re-election for a final term extending to 2031 at the FIFA election congress scheduled for March in Rabat, Morocco. Interested candidates have until November 18 to enter the race.
