Gianni Infantino brushed off a directive from a FIFA vice president to steer clear of an Under-14 soccer tournament in the Caribbean. Instead, he made a rare public appearance during the uproar surrounding his failed attempt to privatize future World Cup earnings. Infantino shared images on his Instagram account on Saturday, showcasing his meetings with political and soccer figures from the Dominican Republic at a Caribbean Football Union (CFU) youth competition held in Punta Cana.
The day before, Victor Montagliani, president of CONCACAF, had advised Infantino against attending to prevent drawing attention away from the soccer matches. Montagliani expressed concerns in an email to Infantino, suggesting that media focus on the FIFA governance crisis caused by the controversial FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal would overshadow the technical aspects of the CFU youth tournament. Montagliani respectfully urged Infantino to reconsider his presence at the event.
FIFA chose not to comment on Montagliani’s request but highlighted its financial support for regional bodies like the CFU with up to $5 million US per World Cup cycle. Montagliani, along with other FIFA vice presidents, has joined forces in seeking to end Infantino’s prolonged presidency, accusing him of deceit in planning to transfer FIFA’s lucrative commercial activities to external investors without transparency.
Infantino shelved the project on August 1 following widespread backlash from soccer stakeholders and fans, including criticism from his own chief operating officer, Kevin Lamour, who was subsequently dismissed. Caribbean federations are viewed as potential allies for Infantino, with CONMEBOL supporting him to secure more matches at the 2030 World Cup. Infantino, who aims for re-election until 2031, has not faced public inquiries since the controversy emerged and tactfully avoided a reporter from Sky News during his recent appearance in Punta Cana.
The FIFA president is eyeing a final term in office and must declare his candidacy by November 18 for the upcoming FIFA election congress in Rabat, Morocco.
