Gianni Infantino disregarded a suggestion from one of his FIFA vice presidents to refrain from attending an Under-14 soccer tournament in the Caribbean and instead opted to make a rare public appearance amidst the global controversy surrounding his failed attempt to sell future World Cup revenues to private investors.
Over the weekend, Infantino shared photos on his Instagram account depicting his meeting with political and soccer figures from the Dominican Republic at a Caribbean Football Union (CFU) youth competition held at the Punta Cana resort. The day before, Victor Montagliani, the Canadian president of CONCACAF, advised Infantino against attending to prevent diverting attention from the soccer matches.
Montagliani expressed concerns in an email, suggesting that the media scrutiny on FIFA’s governance crisis due to the contentious FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal could overshadow the CFU youth event’s technical focus. While FIFA declined to comment on Montagliani’s request, it emphasized its financial support for regional bodies like CFU during each 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 for the end of Infantino’s presidency, criticizing him for deceptive planning to transfer FIFA’s lucrative commercial activities to external investors without transparency.
Infantino abandoned the controversial project on August 1 following widespread opposition, including public disapproval from soccer stakeholders and fans. The Zurich-based COO, Kevin Lamour, who openly criticized the proposal and Infantino’s leadership, was dismissed shortly after. In the Caribbean region, Infantino aims to garner support from member federations to potentially challenge the existing CONCACAF leadership.
Despite avoiding public inquiries since the revelation of the $20 billion FFE initiative in late July, Infantino encountered questions during his visit to Punta Cana, where he evaded inquiries from a British Sky News reporter regarding his alleged betrayal of the sport and calls for resignation. Infantino is gearing up for a re-election bid for his final term until 2031 at the upcoming FIFA election congress in Morocco next year, with the candidacy deadline set for November 18.