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 attempt to sell future World Cup profits to private investors. Infantino shared photos on his Instagram account on Saturday, showcasing his meetings with political and soccer officials from the Dominican Republic at a Caribbean Football Union (CFU) youth tournament held in the Punta Cana resort.
The Canadian president of CONCACAF, Victor Montagliani, had advised Infantino against attending the event to prevent drawing attention away from the soccer matches due to the governance crisis sparked by Infantino’s contentious FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal. Montagliani expressed concerns in an email, stating that media focus on the situation would overshadow the technical aspects of the CFU youth competition. Despite the request, Infantino decided to participate in the event.
FIFA chose not to comment on Montagliani’s plea but highlighted its financial support to regional bodies like CFU, providing up to $5 million US every four years from the 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 called for an end to Infantino’s presidency, accusing him of deceptive behavior in planning to transfer FIFA’s commercial activities to external investors without transparency.
Infantino shelved the controversial project on August 1 following widespread criticism from soccer stakeholders and fans. The Zurich-based COO, Kevin Lamour, who had publicly criticized the proposal and Infantino’s leadership style, was dismissed. Infantino, who has not answered questions publicly since the scandal broke, is seeking re-election for a final term until 2031 at the upcoming FIFA election congress in Morocco. The deadline for potential candidates to enter the race is set for November 18.