Gianni Infantino, the FIFA President, recently defied a request to avoid attending an Under-14 soccer event in the Caribbean. Despite being advised by FIFA vice president Victor Montagliani to stay away, Infantino was present during a Caribbean Football Union (CFU) youth tournament in the Dominican Republic.
Photos of Infantino meeting political and soccer officials in Punta Cana were shared on his Instagram. This visit occurred amidst global discontent over his attempt to sell future World Cup profits to private investors. Montagliani, president of CONCACAF, had urged Infantino to reconsider attending to prevent drawing media attention from the tournament.
“I believe that considering the governance crisis surrounding FIFA as a result of your controversial FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal, the media will focus on this situation,” Montagliani wrote in an email.
FIFA chose not to comment on Montagliani’s request. The organization funds regional bodies like CFU with up to $5 million per World Cup cycle. Montagliani, along with UEFA’s Aleksander Ceferin and AFC’s Sheik Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, is seeking to limit Infantino’s presidential authority. They accused Infantino of privatizing FIFA’s commercial activities without their knowledge.
The proposed project, valued at $20 billion and announced on July 28, drew backlash, leading Infantino to withdraw the plan on August 1. The plan involved creating a subsidiary partly owned by investors led by Joshua Kushner. FIFA’s Chief Operating Officer Kevin Lamour, a critic of Infantino’s proposal, was fired recently.
Despite the controversy, Caribbean federations may back Infantino, with CONMEBOL supporting him for more World Cup games in 2030. Infantino has avoided public questions since the project reveal. In Punta Cana, he avoided a Sky News reporter’s questions about his leadership and intentions.
Infantino plans to run for a fourth term in office in 2031. The deadline for other candidates is set for November 18 in the lead-up to the FIFA election congress in March in Rabat, Morocco.