GENEVA — Gianni Infantino chose to attend an Under-14 soccer event in the Caribbean, despite a recommendation from one of FIFA’s vice presidents for him to stay away. His attendance comes amidst ongoing controversy following his unsuccessful attempt to commercialize future World Cup profits.
On Saturday, Infantino shared images on his Instagram account from the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) youth tournament in Punta Cana, where he met with political and soccer leaders from the Dominican Republic.
Victor Montagliani, president of the Miami-based continental soccer organization Concacaf, had urged Infantino the day prior to reconsider his appearance, citing concerns that his presence could serve as a distraction from the matches.
In an email obtained by ESPN, Montagliani noted, “Given the governance crisis surrounding FIFA stemming from your controversial FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal, the media will likely focus on this matter,” which could detract from the technical aspects of the CFU youth competition.
Montagliani urged Infantino to reconsider his participation, emphasizing that it could undermine the significance of the youth development event.
FIFA has stated it provides direct funding to regional bodies like the CFU, contributing up to $5 million from each World Cup cycle.
Montagliani has united with fellow FIFA vice presidents Aleksander Ceferin from UEFA and Sheik Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa from the Asian Football Confederation in efforts to curtail Infantino’s increasingly powerful leadership, which is now in its 11th year.
Two weeks ago, they accused Infantino of “deception” for secretly planning to spin off FIFA’s lucrative commercial operations to a subsidiary with 20% ownership available to investors led by Joshua Kushner.
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Infantino scrapped the project on August 1 following widespread backlash from soccer leaders and fans, shortly after his chief operating officer issued strong criticisms of the proposal and Infantino’s leadership style. The Zurich-based COO, Kevin Lamour, was subsequently dismissed this week.
Member federations from the Caribbean are viewed as potential allies for Infantino, possibly helping him gain traction against Concacaf leadership. In contrast, the South American confederation CONMEBOL has endorsed Infantino, seeing him as the best route to secure additional matches at the 2030 World Cup, which they wish to expand from 48 to 64 teams.
Associated Press contributed to this report.