Gianni Infantino disregarded a request from one of his FIFA vice presidents to abstain 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. Infantino shared images on his Instagram account on Saturday, showcasing his meeting with political and soccer figures from the Dominican Republic at a Caribbean Football Union (CFU) youth tournament in the Punta Cana resort.
Prior to his appearance, Victor Montagliani, the Canadian president of CONCACAF, had advised Infantino against attending to prevent drawing attention away from the soccer matches. In an email seen by The Associated Press, Montagliani expressed concerns that media focus on the governance crisis within FIFA due to the controversial FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal could overshadow the technical aspects of the CFU youth competition.
While FIFA declined to comment on Montagliani’s request, it emphasized its direct financial support to regional bodies like the CFU during each four-year World Cup cycle. Montagliani, along with other FIFA vice presidents, including Aleksander Ceferin from UEFA and Sheik Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa from the AFC, have called for an end to Infantino’s presidency, accusing him of deception for planning to transfer FIFA’s commercial activities to external investors without transparency.
Infantino scrapped the project on August 1 following widespread backlash from the soccer community. The COO of FIFA, Kevin Lamour, who criticized the proposal and Infantino’s leadership, was subsequently dismissed. Caribbean federations are viewed as potential allies for Infantino to garner support away from CONCACAF leadership, while CONMEBOL from South America backs Infantino to facilitate an expanded 2030 World Cup.
Infantino has refrained from addressing the public since the project revelation in July and avoided questions from a reporter during the event in Punta Cana. He is seeking re-election for a final term until 2031 at the upcoming FIFA election congress in Rabat, Morocco. The deadline for potential candidates to enter the race is set for November 18.
