Defiance Amid Governance Crisis

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has defied a request from one of his own vice presidents and attended a Caribbean Football Union (CFU) under-14 tournament in the Dominican Republic, making a rare public appearance during the global furor over his failed plan to sell future World Cup profits to private investors.

On Saturday, Infantino posted photos on his Instagram account showing him meeting political and football officials from the Dominican Republic on the sidelines of the CFU youth tournament in the Punta Cana resort. His presence came despite a Friday letter from Victor Montagliani, the Canadian president of CONCACAF and a FIFA vice president, asking him to reconsider his attendance.

"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 a letter seen by The Associated Press, "which will unfortunately significantly take away from the technical nature of the CFU youth competition." He added, "I respectfully ask you in the name of football to reconsider your attendance as it will unfortunately undermine the technical nature of this important youth development activity."

FIFA declined to comment on the request, though it noted that it directly funds regional bodies like the CFU with up to $5 million from each four-year World Cup cycle.

The controversy stems from Infantino's now-abandoned FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal, which would have sold a stake in future World Cup profits to private investors. The $20 billion project was revealed by The Times on July 28, prompting protests and criticism from football leaders and fans. Infantino withdrew the plan on August 1, but the backlash has not subsided.

Escalating Opposition

Montagliani has aligned with fellow FIFA vice presidents Aleksander Ceferin from UEFA and Asian Football Confederation president Sheik Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa in seeking to end Infantino's increasingly executive presidency, now in its 11th year. Two weeks ago, they accused Infantino of "deception" in secretly planning over the past year to spin off FIFA's commercial activities to a subsidiary 20% owned by investors led by Joshua Kushner.

FIFA chief operating officer Kevin Lamour published stinging criticism of the FFE proposal and Infantino's leadership in a statement to the AP, and was subsequently fired.

The three confederations — UEFA, AFC, and CONCACAF — have aligned in demanding Infantino's resignation. They have also expressed a desire to give him the opportunity to resign without seeking re-election in March. The English FA, Wales, and Scotland have withdrawn their previous support for Infantino, and UEFA is pushing for his withdrawal and threatening a boycott of FIFA tournaments.

Despite the pressure, Infantino has not taken questions publicly since the FFE project was revealed. When Sky News reporter James Matthews asked whether he had betrayed football and should resign, Infantino replied "Thank you so much" and made quips about both men being bald, before entering a limousine with the comment "See you at the hairdresser's."

Caribbean as Battleground

Infantino's attendance at the CFU meeting appears to be part of a broader strategy to lobby for election votes among Caribbean countries, hoping to cause a split within CONCACAF. Multiple sources attending the meeting said many CONCACAF members were infuriated by his behavior, particularly as he had been asked to stay away.

Infantino arrived in Punta Cana with a large FIFA entourage, including secretary general Mattias Grafström and Elkhan Mammadov, the director of member associations. Before making funding pledges, his team approached individual member associations lobbying for support, a strategy that has caused disquiet in some quarters.

Despite the tensions, Infantino and Montagliani met briefly and shook hands before the meeting, an exchange captured by Infantino's camera crew and posted on Instagram.

Caribbean member federations are seen as potential supporters for Infantino to peel away from their CONCACAF leadership. Mexico, Grenada, and St Kitts and Nevis have broken with CONCACAF to declare support for Infantino, while the majority of CONCACAF's 41 members back the alliance with UEFA advocated by Montagliani.

South American body CONMEBOL has also backed Infantino as its best path to hosting more games at the 2030 World Cup, which it wants expanded from 48 teams to 64.

Broader Allegations

The Concacaf position echoes previous complaints about FIFA's operations from the Jordan FA, whose president, Prince Ali bin al-Hussein, accused Infantino of bribery this month, claiming Jordan has not received prize money from last year's Arab Cup due to the country's failure to endorse Infantino.

In a separate development, Uefa and Concacaf are in talks about setting up a joint Nations League in 2028 that could develop further into a new global competition.

Looking Ahead

Infantino is aiming to be re-elected for a fourth and final term through 2031 at the FIFA election congress next March in Rabat, Morocco. FIFA has set a November 18 deadline for would-be presidential candidates to enter the race.

One source said the official FIFA party attempted to portray the governance crisis as a private dispute between Infantino and Montagliani. Montagliani has been widely touted in Europe as a possible contender to replace Infantino.

The CFU consists of 21 associations, meaning 21 votes in the presidential election, making the region a key battleground as Infantino seeks to shore up support.

Dominican Republic Minister of Sports and Recreation Kelvin Cruz welcomed Infantino's presence, saying in a statement that it puts the country on the international football radar and opens prospects for growth and development of Dominican football.